Delta Air Lines has joined competitor American Airlines in deferring deliveries of widebody Airbus A350 jets but it still expects to be flying the fuel-efficient aircraft later this year.
Delta announced it would defer 10 of its 25 A350-900 deliveries set for 2019-20 by two to three years with an option of “additional flexible delivery’’.
The deferral is part of a deal which saw it place an expanded order for 30 additional conventional engine option Airbus A321-200 single-aisle aircraft.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based airline announced its schedule for its first A350-900 aircraft remained in place and it expected to take five of the aircraft in 2107. It planned to operate the first A350 revenue flight in the fourth quarter, featuring its Delta One suite and Premium Select cabin.
“These agreements better align our widebody and narrowbody order books with our fleet replacement needs,” said Delta chief operating officer Gil West.
Delta currently operates 19 A321s and the additional planes will see it take 112 of the aircraft by 2021, primarily to replace older aircraft on US domestic routes.
Its decision to defer the 10 A350s comes after American decided to delay delivery of its first A350-900 from spring this year to late 2018.
American said deliveries would continue through to 2022, two years later than originally scheduled, with two A350s due in 2018 and five each in 2019 and 2020.
The deferral would reduce capital expenditures in 2017 and 2018 and provide “capacity flexibility”, it said.
Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said the order for the additional A321ceos, powered by CFM56 engines and equipped with fuel-saving wing tip devices called sharklets, was a vote of confidence in the aircraft and demonstrated the aircraft’s operator, investor and passenger appeal.
The manufacturer will deliver many of Delta’s A321s from its Us manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama.
Airbus says the Mobile plant is expected to produce four aircraft per month by the end of this year with most going to US customers.
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