Delta Expands Airbus A321-200 Order; Defers 10 A350 Deliveries

Delta Air Lines has agreed with Airbus to place an expanded A321-200 order for 30 firm additional aircraft.

The airline took delivery of its first A321 in March 2016 and has ordered a total of 112 A321s, each powered by CFM56 engines from CFM International.

All of Delta’s A321s will feature fuel-saving Sharklets – lightweight composite wingtip devices that offer up to 4% fuel-burn savings. This environmental benefit gives airlines the option of extending their range up to 100 nautical miles/185 kilometres or increasing payload capacity by some 1000 pounds/450 kilograms.

The airline has also decided to defer 10 of the airline’s 25 A350-900 aircraft deliveries set for 2019-2020 by two to three years with additional delivery flexibility.

Delta’s delivery schedule for its first A350-900 aircraft remains in place and the airline plans to operate its first A350 revenue flight in the fourth quarter, featuring the Delta One Suite and Premium Select cabin.

The airline still expects to take delivery of five A350s in 2017.

“These agreements better align our widebody and narrowbody order books with our fleet replacement needs,” said Gil West, Delta’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “We appreciate the partnership of Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GE Aviation as we exercise what’s best for our business, our employees and our customers.”

Delta currently operates 19 A321s and this expansion will bring the total firm delivery aircraft from 82 to 112 by 2021.

The A321 aircraft will primarily be deployed on U.S. domestic routes as older domestic-gauge aircraft retire during the next several years.

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