Delta, which has the oldest fleet among U.S. major airlines, will buy 100 Airbus A321neo planes, the latest and longest member of the A320 family to replace older planes in its fleet. There’s also an option for another 100 planes.
Airbus won the order over Boeing, which had hopes of filling it with 737MAX planes. However, not only has Delta been favoring Airbus, choosing the A350 over the 787 as its twin-aisle flagship, but there’s been bad blood between the two companies over Boeing’s involvement in the tariff case around the Bombardier C-series airliners.
Delta placed a large order with the Canadian-based company, looking for planes that fill a size spot smaller than the 737/A320 and larger than regional jets. Boeing successfully urged the U.S. government to place a high tariff on the planes, claiming that Bombardier had illegally low prices based on government subsidies.
Delta will most likely use the A321s on longer domestic routes and some international service. Earlier A321s have been used as replacements for some 757s and 767s, and especially as replacements for Delta’s large (over 160 planes) fleet of old MD88s and MD90s. They are scheduled to be replaced by A321s and the Bombardier CS-100s, depending on market needs.
