Delta Air Lines Inc., the world’s second-largest carrier, reaffirmed its order for 18 Boeing Co. 787-8 jets, while deferring deliveries into the next decade.
Delta and Boeing reached the agreement to defer the planes until 2020-2022 in the quarter that just ended, the airline said today in a regulatory filing.
Northwest Airlines Corp., which Delta bought in 2008, was to take deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner planes between 2008 and 2010, and Delta has repeatedly said it was in ongoing discussions with Boeing about the matter, leading some analysts to speculate that it might cancel the order.
“I’m kind of surprised” Delta kept the order, said Richard Aboulafia, a fleet analyst at consulting firm Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia. “Then again, how meaningful is a 10-year deferral? A lot can change in 10 years. Maybe Delta did this for contractual reasons. Maybe they didn’t have walk-away rights. Maybe they’re still examining the issue and had to say something by a certain time.”
Boeing has delayed the plastic-composite Dreamliner’s entry into commercial service six times, until 2011’s first quarter, after planning a May 2008 debut. The first U.S. customer for the 787 is scheduled to be United Continental Holdings Inc., which plans to begin flying its first plane in November 2011. AMR Corp.’s American Airlines expects deliveries of the 787-9 version in 2014.
Delta is pushing out the delivery schedule of the wide-body jets because it already has 180 planes capable of ocean-crossing flights, with an average age of about 11 years. Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson said as recently as April that the company is “in good shape in terms of trans-ocean airplanes right now.”
Trebor Banstetter, a Delta spokesman, declined to comment on the Atlanta-based company’s order beyond the regulatory filing.
“We are pleased that Delta Air Lines has reaffirmed its order for 18 firm 787 Dreamliners,” said Jim Proulx, a Seattle- based spokesman for Boeing. He declined to comment on delivery schedules or other terms of the Delta discussions.
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