Airbus won the top up order

[WorldTraveler]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/delta-announces-order-40-airbus-131500839.html

10 of the "heaviest" 330-300s and 30 321s.

says they will be used on the Pacific and Atlantic.

The 529K lb 330-300s should be capable of MSP-NRT and SEA-PVG and PEK. Should allow MSP-NRT and LAX-NRT to be 333s year around (LAX-NRT has been operated by a current gen 333 in the summer) which frees up about 4 777s for longer haul growth. Also could fly JFK-TLV.

The 333 is the lowest CASM large widebody on the market. DL is switching to GE engines for the new 330s.

321s will have 190 seats including 20 big chairs. GE/Snecma engines. Toasts around the table in Cincinnati today.

333s start coming in spring of 2015; 321s about a year later.

 

[USFlyer]

Interesting on the A321. What was once the "dog" of the industry, at least domestically, has now been purchased by B6, AA and DL ... on top of the decades-long use of the A321 by US.

 

[Kev3188]

Interesting on the A321. What was once the "dog" of the industry, at least domestically, has now been purchased by B6, AA and DL ... on top of the decades-long use of the A321 by US.

Interesting indeed...

And, hey; what's another fleet type amongst friends?

 

[eolesen]

DL rarely meets an aircraft type it doesn't want to operate in small numbers.

 

[WorldTraveler]

DL already operates 32 330s and even though the 330s involve an engine change from DL's current 330s, the CF6 is still common to many of DLs 767s.
The 321s are part of the same 320 family with the same engine family.

There is actually more commonality with the current generation of the 320s and 739s than if DL went for the new generation options for both aircraft.

A probably beat the price B offered DL for the 739ERs which based on DL's financial releases sold for at least a 50% discount off of list. 330 sales for Airbus are all pure profit now that they have made well beyond 1200 copies.

DL will be the only US airline that will operate the 319/320/321 and the 737-700/800/900 but there is no current generation aircraft that DL was considering that wouldn't have had a fairly high commonality with its existing fleet.

There may have been other aspects of this deal that favored Airbus - including helping get rid of CRJs (Europeans are better at recycling than Americans), activating some of the advanced avionics on the current 320 fleet, and extending the life of existing 320s.

Airbus says some of the 321s for DL will be made in Mobile, AL. Maybe the CRJs won't even have to be flown that far.

The core of the deal is that the 333 is now capable of many of the routes that the 777 once could only do.

The 777 is a great plane and the LR even more so but the 333 has been improved significantly. DL's 777s already fly significantly further on average than the 777s of AA or UA. that will likely only increase as the 777 is used only where its heavier weight is really needed.

If the 333 is used heavily from SEA, it means DL has great expectations about its ability to grow its Pacific presence from SEA, the closest gateway to Asia from the continental US. The 333's very low costs coupled with DL's already low costs compared to its peers means DL should have no trouble growing its Pacific presence outside of Japan.

 

[Kev3188]

DL rarely meets an aircraft type it doesn't want to operate in small numbers.

True.

 

[robbedagain]

us operates the 319/320/321 albeit with 2 or so different engine types... isnt tru though that dl current airbus are all ex nwa planes?

 

[700UW]

Yes all the current airbus at Delta are former Northwest planes. DL never flew the A320 family or A330 family, they did fly A300s/310s inherited from Pan Am.

 

[WorldTraveler]

us operates the 319/320/321 albeit with 2 or so different engine types... isnt tru though that dl current airbus are all ex nwa planes?

I was saying that DL will operate all 3 members of the 320 Family and all 3 737NG Family as well.

700 is right.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

As a mechanic, I loved the 319/320 family. Very reliable aircraft and very easy to troubleshoot. Richard remembers this well. It is obvious he has listened to some of the old guard NWA Maint Control folks when making this newest decision to buy new copies of the 'old' version.

Good move by Delta in my opinion.

 

[Kev3188]

As a crew chief on the ramp, I love it as well. All of them (A319/320/330) a easy to work, and very ramper friendly.

I hope he's listening to some of the "old guard." Lots of institutional knowledge there...

 

[robbedagain]

wt i did see your post regarding the 737 series too.. has dl started taking the 739s yet or is that later to come

 

[WorldTraveler]

supposedly the first 739s enter service in a few weeks.

Airbus builds products that are fully competitive with anything and DL, like every other airline is no longer married to one manufacturer. They have come along way since the 310s which DL gave back very quickly even after Airbus rebuilt a whole new set hoping it would make DL happy.

Still not sure how anyone can say that DL hasn't met an airplane it won't like when every other US network carrier will have a fleet that is just as complex. The 737 and 320 family has airplanes with different sizes but there is very little that prevents them from being interchanged on a day to day basis... and that might be a big part of the advantage of what DL is doing here.

Let's also remember that with this order, DL is thinking about where it needs to be with an AA/US merger, which seems more likely to happen than not. Growth is going to be in the cards and DL needs the metal to make it happen.

 

[robbedagain]

WT sounds like your changing tunes about the us/aa merger youre saying now its more likely to happen than not.. what made you change your mind bec for a while you seem to be dead set against it... as for dl putting aircraft similar to say ua or aa or us isnt pretty common to have the right aircraft to make the most profits possible

 

[WorldTraveler]

I didn't believe a takeover of AA by American West would be in AA's best long-term interests but I also know that AA has fallen too far at this point for AA to be able to regain the position it once had any other way except thru a merger with HP.

I agree with others on the US thread that Parker will do whatever he has to do - except give up the reins of the company - in order to make the merger work. Just as FWAAA noted there, he gave away far too much in the slot deal without seeing the implications of that down the road - and he will do the same thing with the merger.

well of course it is actually desirable to use the right aircraft for a particular mission. Apparently it is ok for AA/US to operate 330s and 777s, 737s and 320 family aircraft but if DL does it they are creating subfleets upon subfleets with no real benefit.

The evidence is in the revenue and profits that are generated. If fleet complexity were such a handicap, then DL couldn't possibly be generating the revenues they are.

The fact that DL was the only profitable airline in the Pacific in the most recently reported quarter shows that DL does know how to put the right aircraft in the right markets.
The 333s will be the lowest CASM aircraft on the Pacific including against AA and UA's 787s - and will give DL enormous ability to generate profits with minimal investment compared to its peers.