General Lee
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Delta quiet on 787 jets
Northwest’s original plans called for 18. Tabled earlier in the year, the order would improve emissions for the airline.
By Kelly Yamanouchi
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, May 04, 2009
Will Delta fly the Dreamliner?
With Delta Air Lines’ acquisition of Northwest Airlines last year came an order Northwest had placed for 18 of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner jets.
The plane is touted as the Next Big Thing in airliners: a twin-engine, long-haul jet that uses 20 percent less fuel and boasts passenger amenities such as bigger windows and better inside air quality. The Dreamliner could be as significant to aviation as hybrid cars are to the auto industry.
But Delta has been coy about its plans for the 787 since closing the merger.
Earlier this year, it dropped the Northwest orders from tables in financial reports, saying it was “in discussions with Boeing” because of delivery schedule delays caused by production issues and a strike at Boeing last fall.
Delta’s No. 2 executive, President Ed Bastian, said last week that Delta would have 10 787s flying today if the planes had been delivered on schedule. But he stopped short of saying the orders will be rescheduled.
“We think the 787 is a great platform for the future, and we’d like to see the 787 at some point here at Delta,” Bastian said. “But we just can’t speculate on any outcome.”
Airliner orders for a new model amount to a huge gamble, as they have to be made years before planes will arrive. At this point it’s unclear what the new schedule for 787 deliveries to Delta would be.
Airline orders for new planes also give an indication of how much an airline plans to grow in future years. Delta —- the world’s biggest carrier since the Northwest merger —- now has about 750 planes in its fleet.
Other than the 787s, Delta has orders to buy five Boeing 777s, three Boeing 737-700s, two Airbus 320s and five Airbus 319s. It also has orders for 33 Boeing 737-800s and four CRJ-900 regional jets but has deals to sell 31 of the 737s and assign two of the CRJ-900s to a regional carrier.
If Delta decides not to continue the 787 orders as Northwest negotiated them, it could seek to change the terms, cancel them or exchange them for orders of other aircraft, such as 777s already in its fleet.
Complicating the equation: Delta also has options, or reserved future production slots, for dozens more planes, including another 18 787s. Options typically carry dates by which an airline must confirm the order of give up the slots.
But amid the weak economy and challenges in the airline industry, Delta has been removing planes from its fleet as it cut capacity in the second half of 2008.
The cuts continue. Delta plans to cut its capacity by 6 percent to 8 percent later this year and take 40 to 50 of its aircraft and 30 regional jets out of its fleet this year. It also said it would ground its entire fleet of 14 Boeing 747 freighter jets. The 747 freighters also came with Delta’s acquisition of Northwest.
Boeing had once hoped to start delivering 787s in mid-2008, but by last December that date had been pushed back to early 2010.
Delta’s top executive for route planning, Glen Hauenstein, indicated that month that the newly merged airline may not keep all the orders for the 787s. And in March, Bastian was questioned about the company’s 787 order during a presentation at an investor conference in New York.
Other U.S. carriers that plan to fly the 787 are Continental and American. They and other early users of the 787 are likely to use it as a marketing tool, especially on international routes where Delta has expanded in recent years, despite recent pullbacks due to the recession.
“It’s important to anyone who’s trying to increase their international market exposure,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant at Teal Group in Fairfax, Va.
“Certainly the 787 is going to come in handy in Asian markets,” Aboulafia said.
On the other hand, adding another type of plane to Delta’s post-merger fleet “is probably not the most appealing move,” Aboulafia said. Delta added several new models from Northwest, and a high number of aircraft types complicates scheduling, maintenance and other elements of operations.
Boeing, which plans the first 787 test flight this summer, has said it expects “a modest level of order churn on the 787” this year. Some other airlines have canceled orders, and with the delays some might prefer to wait for a later version of the Dreamliner, experts say.
Delta Chief Executive Richard Anderson isn’t showing his hand on the issue, but he said the plane brings important advances.
“The innovation that they’re bringing with the 787 long term is remarkable because, you know, we have to continue our quest toward reducing emissions,” he said. “The innovation that you see in that airplane is going to be key going forward to our conservation and environmental philosophies of zero carbon emissions.”
About the 787
Passengers: 210 to 250, base model, more than 300 in some variants
Range: 7650-8200 nautical miles
First flight: Planned for mid-2009
First delivery: Early 2010
Passenger amenities: Windows 25 percent bigger; cabin air system to allow more humidity and less pollution.
Innovations: Will burn 20 percent less fuel than current comparable jets, in part because lightweight composite materials make up 50 percent of the plane’s structure
Bye Bye--General Lee
Northwest’s original plans called for 18. Tabled earlier in the year, the order would improve emissions for the airline.
By Kelly Yamanouchi
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, May 04, 2009
Will Delta fly the Dreamliner?
With Delta Air Lines’ acquisition of Northwest Airlines last year came an order Northwest had placed for 18 of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner jets.
The plane is touted as the Next Big Thing in airliners: a twin-engine, long-haul jet that uses 20 percent less fuel and boasts passenger amenities such as bigger windows and better inside air quality. The Dreamliner could be as significant to aviation as hybrid cars are to the auto industry.
But Delta has been coy about its plans for the 787 since closing the merger.
Earlier this year, it dropped the Northwest orders from tables in financial reports, saying it was “in discussions with Boeing” because of delivery schedule delays caused by production issues and a strike at Boeing last fall.
Delta’s No. 2 executive, President Ed Bastian, said last week that Delta would have 10 787s flying today if the planes had been delivered on schedule. But he stopped short of saying the orders will be rescheduled.
“We think the 787 is a great platform for the future, and we’d like to see the 787 at some point here at Delta,” Bastian said. “But we just can’t speculate on any outcome.”
Airliner orders for a new model amount to a huge gamble, as they have to be made years before planes will arrive. At this point it’s unclear what the new schedule for 787 deliveries to Delta would be.
Airline orders for new planes also give an indication of how much an airline plans to grow in future years. Delta —- the world’s biggest carrier since the Northwest merger —- now has about 750 planes in its fleet.
Other than the 787s, Delta has orders to buy five Boeing 777s, three Boeing 737-700s, two Airbus 320s and five Airbus 319s. It also has orders for 33 Boeing 737-800s and four CRJ-900 regional jets but has deals to sell 31 of the 737s and assign two of the CRJ-900s to a regional carrier.
If Delta decides not to continue the 787 orders as Northwest negotiated them, it could seek to change the terms, cancel them or exchange them for orders of other aircraft, such as 777s already in its fleet.
Complicating the equation: Delta also has options, or reserved future production slots, for dozens more planes, including another 18 787s. Options typically carry dates by which an airline must confirm the order of give up the slots.
But amid the weak economy and challenges in the airline industry, Delta has been removing planes from its fleet as it cut capacity in the second half of 2008.
The cuts continue. Delta plans to cut its capacity by 6 percent to 8 percent later this year and take 40 to 50 of its aircraft and 30 regional jets out of its fleet this year. It also said it would ground its entire fleet of 14 Boeing 747 freighter jets. The 747 freighters also came with Delta’s acquisition of Northwest.
Boeing had once hoped to start delivering 787s in mid-2008, but by last December that date had been pushed back to early 2010.
Delta’s top executive for route planning, Glen Hauenstein, indicated that month that the newly merged airline may not keep all the orders for the 787s. And in March, Bastian was questioned about the company’s 787 order during a presentation at an investor conference in New York.
Other U.S. carriers that plan to fly the 787 are Continental and American. They and other early users of the 787 are likely to use it as a marketing tool, especially on international routes where Delta has expanded in recent years, despite recent pullbacks due to the recession.
“It’s important to anyone who’s trying to increase their international market exposure,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant at Teal Group in Fairfax, Va.
“Certainly the 787 is going to come in handy in Asian markets,” Aboulafia said.
On the other hand, adding another type of plane to Delta’s post-merger fleet “is probably not the most appealing move,” Aboulafia said. Delta added several new models from Northwest, and a high number of aircraft types complicates scheduling, maintenance and other elements of operations.
Boeing, which plans the first 787 test flight this summer, has said it expects “a modest level of order churn on the 787” this year. Some other airlines have canceled orders, and with the delays some might prefer to wait for a later version of the Dreamliner, experts say.
Delta Chief Executive Richard Anderson isn’t showing his hand on the issue, but he said the plane brings important advances.
“The innovation that they’re bringing with the 787 long term is remarkable because, you know, we have to continue our quest toward reducing emissions,” he said. “The innovation that you see in that airplane is going to be key going forward to our conservation and environmental philosophies of zero carbon emissions.”
About the 787
Passengers: 210 to 250, base model, more than 300 in some variants
Range: 7650-8200 nautical miles
First flight: Planned for mid-2009
First delivery: Early 2010
Passenger amenities: Windows 25 percent bigger; cabin air system to allow more humidity and less pollution.
Innovations: Will burn 20 percent less fuel than current comparable jets, in part because lightweight composite materials make up 50 percent of the plane’s structure
Bye Bye--General Lee
