On August 24th, Delta Air Lines announced that it had augmented its order for Airbus
A321neo aircraft by 30 jets. The airline is exercising options in order to pursue fleet
renewal and replacement strategies and to bolster its hub network. The substantial
A321neo aircraft order will be a huge benefit to the carrier over the coming years. Here’s why...
Delta’s decision to add 30 more Airbus A321neo aircraft to its existing
A321neo order will bring the airline to 155 firm commitments for the A321neo,
with options remaining for 70 more aircraft. These 155 jets are in addition to the existing
A321-200 fleet. The carrier has 121 of these older narrowbodies in its fleet with six yet to
be delivered. The first of the Airbus A321neos is due to Delta in the first half of 2022.
Alongside the announcement of the order, Delta stated that its deal would, in part,
replace older narrowbody aircraft that are less fuel-efficient and ready for retirement.
This primarily points to a couple of different sub-fleets:
The first type is the Boeing 757-200, of which Delta operates 100 standard passenger aircraft.
These planes are an average of roughly 24 years old.
The next set of aircraft that could be up for retirement are the 55 Airbus A320-200s,
which are an average of over 25 years old. With these A320s, retirement is mainly a question
about gauge, costs, and efficiencies. The planes are getting old, only seating 156 passengers.
Delta has been aiming to fly more larger-gauge narrowbody aircraft from its hubs to support its
large connecting network, something that an A321 would better support.
As for the Boeing 757-200s, these are one of the backbones of Delta’s narrowbody domestic fleet,
but they are similarly getting old and are inefficient. Having a similar capacity,
the A321neos will be able to easily replace these old Boeing workhorses.
According to data from ch-aviation.com, the airline has a fleet of 17 Boeing 757-200s
that are equipped with lie-flat seating and have been deployed on long-haul international missions.
This is a relatively small fleet and currently are pointed toward more domestic missions.
This raises the question of whether or not Delta might actually need the longer-range A321LR. There
is a case for the aircraft, but there is also the case against adding extended-range narrowbodies
and choosing instead to fly smaller widebodies. However, with the Boeing 767-300ERs also slated
for retirement, Delta may be in a crunch for widebodies in the 200-230 seat range that
works for smaller but still significant markets. Delta still has 70 options for A321neo aircraft
that Airbus may be willing to convert to orders for longer-range A321neos
such as the LR and XLR. However, it is telling that the airline is waiting out on ordering.
With Boeing reportedly moving forward with a rival to the A321neo family of jets in the long-range
market, Delta could be waiting to see what the American manufacturer brings to the table.
At the end of the day, there are two ways to read this order:
One could be that the carrier does not see a pressing need for a long-range
Boeing 757 replacement and is willing to wait for the best offer and model.
The other could be that Delta has decided it does not want to fly long-range narrowbody
aircraft and instead favors widebody aircraft in which it is making investments.
What do you make of Delta’s A321neo order? Was it a good move? Let us know in the comments!