Delta Airlines has just cancelled an order for 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The order, which Delta inherited when it took over Northwest Airlines in 2008, no longer fit as Delta focuses its wide-body fleet on Airbus A330s and A350s.
Northwest had been scheduled to be the launch customer for the 787, but delays in production and the disappearance of the airline ended that, but Delta left the order hanging until now. Delta is still buying a significant number—120—of Boeing’s narrow-body 737-900ER.
Some industry analysts have suggested that Boeing might actually be pleased that the long-delayed order is off the books, because it frees up delivery slots for customers with more immediate needs, including perhaps Iran Air.
Delta is not the only airline with fleet mix issues. Numbers of airlines have been slowing deliveries of new planes because of possible over-capacity on highly-competitive routes where discounters such as Norwegian Air Shuttle have cut into the market. Norwegian itself has made recent shifts, adding long-range versions of the 737 to their fleet to serve smaller trans-Atlantic markets than they do with their 787s.
And Alaska Airlines, which has just acquired Virgin America, has a different dilemma. Alaska is an all 737 fleet, and its planes are all painted with the slogan “Proudly All Boeing” (perhaps a little home-town pride for their main hub at Seattle?). Virgin America’s fleet is all A319 and A320. The newly-merged airline has said it will take a while to decide what to do.
Image: The plane you’ll see only in your dreams (Delta livery mockup of 787)
