Delta ordered up to 40 Airbus A350s at the start of 2024. Those will begin arriving next year or early 2027 and feature new business class suites. I told you to expect this order 15 months ahead of time thanks to a wise tip from aviation watchdog JonNYC.
Delta A350-900
Current Delta Business Class Suite
The Atlanta-based carrier has figured out how to beat Trump’s tariffs and has consistently said they won’t be paying any when they take delivery of new European jets.
Delta doesn’t do a good job keeping secrets about their fleet plans. I told you in advance they were planning to buy Boeing 737 MAXs and they did.
Now they’re planning to make another order from Boeing, according again to JonNYC who has been on more than a roll lately. He’s revealed routes that Delta would be announcing (Lufthansa, too), Delta’s plans for suites, and United’s plan to partner with JetBlue.
Now he shares that Delta will be placing an order for Boeing 787s before end of the year or beginning of 2026.
And, yes, 787-10 seems like an extremely safe bet
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) July 17, 2025
Delta didn’t used to buy Boeing, except for used. But Boeing has had a long way to go to get its act together, and is certainly cutting unprecedented deals to do so. Traditionally airlines pay about 50% of list price for new planes. Delta drives a harder bargain than anyone else – I’ve written in the past whether it’s with partners, suppliers or customers that in a 50-50 deal Delta takes the hyphen.
And right now order books are full into the 2030s. American Airlines has said that they’re big enough that airframe manufacturers will ‘make room’ for them. And no doubt that’s true with Delta as well, especially since Boeing wants an increasing piece of their business. But Delta also needs to spread out their order book precisely because the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing lack the capacity to deliver the planes that airlines want to buy.
Your times to shine @Tim Dunn @1990 and @Matt!
@L737 — You were so fast! I bet Ed didn’t wanna deal with the threat of (EU) tariffs anymore. @Tim Dunn was right, DL waited a bit for the AI171 stigma to die down (apparently, it wasn’t a Boeing issue.) Now, what say ye, @Matt? Please consider…
Popcorn is ready.
Gary knows that Ben ran a story about DL’s pending 787-10 order based on my comments in a service-related DL article.
I’m glad to see Jon come along and confirm that his sources validate what I said.
GIVE TIMMY A METAL TO KEEP HIS EGO FROM FLOATING INTO SPACE!
*MEDAL
Tim better be careful. Delta may consider his reports and leaks treason and send the Delta KGB after him.
and 1990,
DL is not paying tariffs on A350 deliveries. They are not being imported to the US and are entering the US as used aircraft which apparently they can get by with. as an aside, tariffs hurt Boeing in the EU more than tariffs on Airbus hurt them in the US.
As I noted in Ben’s article, the biggest reason comes down to the fact that the 787-10 is a low CASM aircraft that is well suited to DL’s TATL and S. America flights while the A350s will be primarily deployed to Asia – both across the Pacific and Atlantic.
Also, there is no way that DL can get by with replacing its 767 fleet w/ Airbuses and having an all Airbus widebody fleet.
There will be room for the 787 as DL gets rid of the 767-300ER across the Atlantic and then later the 767-400. It is far more difficult to keep reserves on international fleet types and DL does not want any more widebody fleet types to have to staff. The 767-300 pilot category is shared with the 757 so using the 757/763 solely on domestic routes makes staffing much easier. The 764 is a separate pilot category and might take the place of the 763 on DL’s domestic and short haul int’l system.
I don’t expect the 787s to come before the late 2020s; DL is likely to take the remaining options on its Airbus widebodies which will keep DL’s widebody deliveries fairly high until the late 2020s.
and GE is reportedly willing to give DL engine maintenance (MRO) rights on the GEnx engines as part of the deal. DL has MRO engine rights for every engine type on every airplane model it has on order.
Delta will likely have Boeing throw in an extra auxillary fuel tank for free to achieve a 7,000 mile range for $150M each or $15 Billion SkyMiles.
DL will have a fleet of 50-60 787s by the mid 2030s.
and this deal is part of Boeing’s customer compensation for the delayed 737 MAX 10 order.
and AA is also expected to order the 787-10 to replace their 777-200ERs
@Tim Dunn — Right, also because TACO; those tariffs keep getting delayed, and are a decoy tactic, as part of the inside trading, pump n dump schemes going on since late January.
@Tim Dunn “Gary knows that Ben ran a story about DL’s pending 787-10 order based on my comments in a service-related DL article.”
I saw Ben quote your comments that a 787 order was logical. It is! But that’s different than putting a timeframe to it. I’m confident in the sourcing on Delta’s current thinking with the order.
“Delta didn’t used to buy Boeing, except for used.”
Wildly inaccurate. Delta has bought factory new from Boeing, though that has not happened in a while. The last big order was for the 737-900ER in 2011. Prior to that, they bought 10 737-700s, which weren’t “used”, and neither were the 737-800s they bought beginning in the late 1990s, or the 767-300ER order from the mid-1990s. The DL and Boeing relationship has not been the warmest, but it is simply not true that Delta didn’t buy Boeing but for used planes.
Tariffs on the A350 or not, with all of the sucking up to the government that UA is doing, it certainly is not a bad time for Delta to be finalizing a large order from an American company. May be a helpful part of their fleet modernization of course, but it’s also a helpful talking point for them right now and in the coming months and years. Smart move (even though I personally dislike flying on 787s).
@Gary, what?. “ Delta didn’t used to buy Boeing, except for used.”
Delta ordered new from Boeing in the past, quite a bit in fact.
727-200
737-800
737-900
737-10
757-200
767-200 remember the Spirit of Delta
767-300
777-200ER / LR
Delta has also purchased used or obtained via mergers 727s 737s 757s DC-10s and 747s
Too bad TD says aircraft orders don’t matter. Maybe rumors about aircraft orders do?
UA: 227 WB, 188 WB/501 NB on order, 15.6 average fleet age, Polaris Suites on 204 WB
DA: 176 WB, 29 WB/246 NB on order, 14.9 average fleet age, Delta One Suites on 80 WB
AA: 130 WB, 26 WB/284 NB on order, 14.1 average fleet age
Too funny.
@Pilot93434 — I miss the 747 from Northwest. Pretty cool taking those between ATL-NRT, back in the day.
The timing around tariffs seems more than opportunistic. It looks like a hedge. Delta has sidestepped Airbus tariffs using indirect delivery schemes, but ordering Boeing right now gives favorable optics domestically and could soften any Airbus-related political pressure.
If Boeing/GE layers on generous engine servicing terms, expanded MRO access via MTU and Delta TechOps, and favorable financial offsets tied to GEnx longevity, then Delta’s deal morphs from a simple aircraft order into a multi-dimensional strategic pact and one that touches fleet capacity, maintenance sovereignty, cost structure, and long-term operational resilience.
Ordering now also secures capacity which is also a real advantage as much as any discount price. So this is ultimately shaping up to look like a three‑pronged strategy: cabin‑network optimization, political hedging, and production pipeline prioritization. That’s a deft strategic play.