Two weeks ago, Delta Air Lines placed an order for 30 Boeing 787-10 widebody aircraft with options for 30 more. Aviation watchdog JonNYC, who had previously leaked Delta’s plan for this order, told us at Delta wasn’t done aircraft shopping and to an expect an order of Airbus widebodies also.
I acknowledged that the A330-900 was the most likely purchase but suggested that they could place an order for Airbus A350-900s also. I did not expect the order to come this quickly, but Delta has now announced:
- 16 Airbus A330-900s
- 15 Airbus A350-900s
On January 27, 2026, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) entered into a definitive agreement with Airbus S.A.S. to purchase 16 Airbus A330-900 aircraft and 15 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, with an option to purchase up to an additional 20 widebody aircraft. Deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2029. The A330-900 aircraft will be powered by the Trent 7000 engine and the A350-900 aircraft will utilize the Trent XWB-84 EP engine, both manufactured by Rolls-Royce.
Airbus A350-900, Credit: Delta
Delta A350-900
Boeing 787-10s are largely a 767 replacement. These deliveries don’t start until 2031. Delta needs planes earlier than that and the Airbus A330-900 plugs that gap, and adds to an existing fleet. And they needed a plan to replace Airbus A330-200s and -300s as well.
Meanwhile, the Airbus A350-900 gives Delta greater range than the 787-10s they’ve ordered and gets about 1,000 nautical miles more range than the A330-900 so it’s a good workhorse for long Asia and Africa routes. They already have 41 Airbus A350-900s.
Delta exercised options it already held, added to that, and gained additional options, exactly what I said would be the case.
DL also gained more engine overhaul rights from Rolls Royce, exactly as some of us predicted.
DL’s confirmed orders will take its widebody fleet to over 200 and even higher when the options for the 787-10s and the remaining widebody options are exercised.
and note that the latest engines for both the 339 and 359 have improved engines which will increase range and reduce fuel burn while improving reliability.
and to think that some – we know who – were convinced that DL would not have enough widebody orders to meet growth.
While UA fights with AA over Chicago, DL will be growing its presence throughout Asia with the most capable and efficient aircraft in the US carrier fleet.
@Tim – United is fighting for Chicago right now, Delta gets just enough widebodies to replace its current crumbling fleet in 2029…. I always appreciate your strongly held but loosely informed insight.
Andy,
DL has well more than enough widebodies just on firm order to replace all of the widebodies it needs to retire in the next 10 years.
and they still have scores or Airbus and Boeing widebody options.
For someone that claims to be insightful, you are woefully ignorant of actual facts and data.
And, “crumbling fleet” is far more appropriate for UA’s fleet – they can’t get engines or parts to support their Pratt powered 777s.
and UA’s fleet of 767s isn’t any newer than DL’s.
UA needs to replace well over 100 widebodies in the next 5-7 years.
Unless UA finally adds the A350, they have no more international growth capacity than UA.
You and the UA fans have never been able to admit that DL runs a better business including being able to get the widebody orders DL needs without ordering widebodies in blocks of 100 years in advance as UA has done. But AA doesn’t do it either.
DL is growing to Asia – East, South and the Middle East – and will have far more capable and efficient aircraft to do it than UA
Of course DL used options as that is the only way to get wide body aircraft in less than 4-5 years. Feeling the heat? 359s? Great! 339s with Trent 7000s? No thanks. This makes the 78Xs look a bit political and begs the question if 30 of them are worth having another fleet. DL could always delay their deliveries like UA did with the 359s.
TD, any word on those on those Riyadh 787 delivery positions? Too funny.
Of course, DL exercised options… but they also ordered additional aircraft ABOVE those options and got more options.
DL has 30 787 options and 30 or more Airbus widebody options.
I know facts are not your friend but DL has never been in a position of not being able to get the aircraft it needs.
and DL is significantly growing the size and capability of its widebody fleet – which is not exactly great news for UA which has committed to a multi-year slugfest with AA.
There will be a whole lot more DL A350s all over Asia and larger and more capable 339s across the Atlantic – which incidentally carry about twice what AA and UA’s XLRs will carry.
not a great day in Chicago.
UA thought it would troll AA’s earnings announcement and DL just let UA know it is targeting the international markets that are UA’s identity.
I said years ago and will say it again that DL has a far higher likelihood of succeeding in the international markets it will add than UA will have going after every domestic carrier not named DL, which UA fears for good reason
and to think that Scott Kirby actually said not long ago that UA needed to order all the 787s it ordered so no one else could get any orders.
DL has ordered 787s, 330s and 350s over the past 2 weeks – obviously proving Kirby wrong ON YET ANOTHER POINT
787s in 2031 and some options starting in three years just like everyone who knows how aircraft orders/backlogs work. Nice try though.
Riyadh delivery positions? Hilarious.
@Tim Dunn
UA has:
– 37 B767-300s: avg. age of 30 (these range in age: 5 of these are <25, 13 <27)
– 16 B767-400s: avg. age of 24
– 74 B777-200s: avg. age of 27 (these range in age: 16 of these are <25, 38 <27)
UA is planning to maximize utilization of these widebodies and delay retirements – both them and DL are using B757 and B767 frames until ~35+ (some even ~37 years old). UA will be helped by the Pratt engine groundings and COVID as it has acquired engines for those B777-200s that are grounded for parts – they are not retiring those planes.
It is very likely UA can get away with ~60-70 widebody retirements by 2033 – it will almost certainly be below 100. UA is committed to 138 B787 deliveries between 2026-2033 (not including options in addition) and 50 XLRs.
DL had 4 remaining A350-900s on its first order, 20 A350-1000s (which will start delivery in early 2027), and 30 B787-10s (which will start delivery in 2031). This adds 16 Airbus A330-900s and
15 Airbus A350-900s with rumors that the A330-900s will start deliveries first in 2029 with the A350-900s later ~2030/31. That is a total of 85 widebodies that will be delivered until 2033 not including options.
In the meantime DL has:
– 34 B767-300s: avg. age of 29 (0 <25; 6 <27 (all between 26-27))
– 21 B767-400s: avg. age of 25 (6<25; all 27
2. DL: 85 widebody deliveries – 28 widebody deliveries are >27
That’s a net +78 for UA and +57 for DL – all this does is bring DL closer to UA, but UA is still almost certainly going to grow more than DL in long-haul.
Jeremy,
to no surprise, you underestimate what UA has to retire and don’t include DL’s options.
when even your math comes out to a difference of 20 aircraft, DL and UA will be neck in neck in international growth.
the big difference is that DL is not fighting w/ everyone in the domestic market and generating almost $2 billion less in profits despite flying 10% more ASMs.
I know you will never agree but I am being proven right more and more every day that DL will succeed more in growing its international network than UA will in gaining domestic share.
Why are any US airlines ordering widebodies for transocean travel east/west? Does anyone use these airlines? The Middle Eastern and Asian airlines are so much better, right?
I didn’t include UA’s options either which are more than DLs (50 B789s + 45 A350s). Regardless your claim is simply wrong and not bearing out in the data. UA’s capacity domestically is growing far more than DL’s internationally. Want to bet on that for 2026 and 2027?
Nothing you were claiming has been proven right whether it comes to DL likely overtaking UA in NYC or that DL will grow more successfully in the Pacific than UA will domestically (DL has taken bigger hits to yield and PRASM in FY25 than UA has domestically).
Wall Street expects UA to further bridge the gap in profitability with DL despite the Battle of Chicago – DL is only adding 4 widebodies in 2026 and TBD on 2027, but it will likely be no more than 8. The routes they’re going to add are already well-known (LAX-HKG, ATL-RUH, ATL-DEL). Perhaps the rumors of LAX-SIN, ICN, and MNL likely materialize with a JFK-ICN, but that’s basically all the net long-haul growth for DL until 2028.
UA is going to grow far more than that with 25+ B789s and 15+ XLRs in that timeframe.