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Delta looks to add 25 narrowbodies by 2010 according to plan

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General Lee

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2002
Posts
20,442
Delta Looks To Fill Narrowbody Gap By 2010

Apr 24, 2007

By Lori Ranson/Aviation Daily

Delta hasn't begun a campaign to fill the gap between its
76-seat regional jets and 142-seat MD-80s, but its business
plan calls for 25 small-gauge narrowbodies by 2010.

The carrier is taking on 15 124-seat Boeing 737-700s, but
Chief Operating Officer Jim Whitehurst recently said those
aircraft are targeted for very specific performance-limited
airports, citing Vail, Mexico City and some islands in the
Caribbean, where the carrier currently has to fly 757s and
would like to have fewer seats or operate additional
frequencies.

The 737-700s slated for the targeted markets aren't viewed
as small-gauge, narrowbody aircraft. Whitehurst explained
that for markets such as Atlanta-Knoxville or -Buffalo,
Delta does have a gap between 76-seats and 142-seats, and
"we will look at all the alternatives out there to close
that gap."

Delta will also likely need to make a widebody replacement
decision within 12 months. Whitehurst pointed out the
airline probably won't need new aircraft until 2011 or 2012
-- the point Delta where will have exhausted its move of
widebody aircraft from domestic to international service. At
that time, Delta will need replacement of some of its older
767s, as well as additional growth.

Whitehurst noted one big benefit of the 787--an aircraft
Delta knows a lot about -- is not only economic gains from
replacing older planes but the 787's longer range.

Delta is stretching the 767s "as far as we can," Whitehurst
said, explaining the carrier is putting a horizontal crew
rest on a subfleet of the 767s, so they are capable of
flying them longer than 12 hours. That capability allowed
Delta to announce its Atlanta-Lagos and JFK-Tel Aviv routes.
Whitehurst said the 767's mission is about 13 hours, and the
787 would supply an additional mission capability that Delta
does not have today, and that's something the carrier would
be interested in, assuming it selects the 787.

Delta is not too concerned about potential challenges in
aircraft availability. Whitehurst highlighted the fact that
Delta wouldn't need deliveries for at least another four or
five years. He also said Delta was the largest operator of
767s in the world with 104 aircraft. "Obviously, at some
point those all have to get replaced. I think for the type
and size of order Delta might be talking about manufacturers
will be accommodating."



Could those 25 narrowbodies be E190s or E195s? Maybe? Whitehurst is known to like them, and he said the incoming 737-700s have specific routes they will be assigned--like Vail and Mexico City.




Other fleet planning was outlined on the Dalpa forum concerning a conference call:


In yesterday's conference call with the finance houses, management pointed out that the RJ fleet will have zero hull growth through 2010, just exchanges from 40/50 seat to 70/76 seat. Mainline is currently scheduled to receive 15 737-700, 2 737-800, 13 757-200, and 5 777 over the next 3 years with no fleet attrition planned.



Bye Bye--General Lee
 
That's certainly good news.


Ummm yeah. And it doesn't look like the MD88s are going anywhere for awhile, especially since their lease rates were shrunk by $200,000 a month each. Not bad.

Bye Bye--General Lee
 
Just a view from an outsider, I agree that Delta needs the 100 seaters for at least dozen city pairs from ATL right away, mailine or not but the 737-700 stuff is pretty much Continental has been doing for years, that's nothing new. They are saying they won't need new widebody aircraft until 2011-2012? and stretch the B763 on a 13 hours trip? What kind of payload/cargo would that carry from TLV in the winter? Many of the competitors are getting the B787s as soon as 2008, and what if the aircraft was a tremendous success with more than 20% fuel savings with extra lift compared to the B767s? The 777-200LRs are going to help, but I have a feeling the B767s will be a thing of the past as soon as B787s come on line in 2008.
 
Just a view from an outsider, I agree that Delta needs the 100 seaters for at least dozen city pairs from ATL right away, mailine or not but the 737-700 stuff is pretty much Continental has been doing for years, that's nothing new. They are saying they won't need new widebody aircraft until 2011-2012? and stretch the B763 on a 13 hours trip? What kind of payload/cargo would that carry from TLV in the winter? Many of the competitors are getting the B787s as soon as 2008, and what if the aircraft was a tremendous success with more than 20% fuel savings with extra lift compared to the B767s? The 777-200LRs are going to help, but I have a feeling the B767s will be a thing of the past as soon as B787s come on line in 2008.

Israir currently flies a 767-300 from TLV to JFK, and has been all winter. There probably would be a hit to passengers or cargo if extra fuel is needed, or they might do a stop for gas. As far as a narrowbody for Delta, I think they need some E190s or something in the 100 seat range, and not a 737-600. The 736 and 737-700 have the same operating cost, with less seats on the 736. My bet is that Delta will get some E190s or E195s sooner than later.
 
TWA used a 763 from TLV and CAI year round with no fuel stops and I don't think they had to leave anyone at the gate.

It's a shame AA can't use the TWA route authority on the very profitable TLV-JFK route. They F'ed all the TLV employees and told the Israeli Gov't. to take a hike so they're kind of personna non grata in Israel.TC
 
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The 736 and 737-700 have the same operating cost, with less seats on the 736. My bet is that Delta will get some E190s or E195s sooner than later.

not entirely true. The 737-700 and 600 have pretty close to the same operating costs, but the -600 operating cost is a little less. They are close enough to the same though that it really makes not sense to buy the -600.

I would guess the same would apply to the 190 and 195. I can't see the 190 having operating costs significantly less than the 195. So I can't see a reason to buy the 190 instead of the 195.

However, I do think we will see a small number of 190/195s (don't know which, though it could be a mix....you never know).
 

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