Pinnacle TA Passes....

[Flyer1015]

Boeing Bargains With Delta for a Billion-Dollar Deal


By Dan Ritter
January 24, 2013

Page 1 of 2



Already juggling tenuous contract negotiations with a labor union and the ongoing investigation into lithium-ion batteries aboard its 787 Dreamliner, Boeingis engaged in talks with Delta over an order for as many as 30 aircraft.

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that as part of a fleet-overhaul initiative, Delta, the world’s second-largest airline, is evaluating whether it wants to replace some of its 50-seat aircraft with the Boeing 737 or the Airbus A320. Both planes are a rung below the Dreamliner in the hierarchy of aircraft, but have been the backbone of the industry for years.

Estimates put the size of the deal at about $1 billion, a deep discount to the nearly $3 billion listed retail value for an order this large. Boeing may be willing to offer steeper discounts in light of all the bad mojo the company has accumulated over the past few weeks because of the Dreamliner battery fiasco. In 2012, for the first time in a decade, Boeing out-delivered its European rival. The company highlighted its victory with an initiative to double its Dreamliner production capacity, but with fleets grounded for a week already, Boeing’s ambitions have been complicated…



Bye Bye----General Lee

Am I reading this right? Delta wants A320s for replacement of 50 seater RJs? I thought Delta wanted the NWA A319/320s gone within a couple years, and that the 100 737-900s order was going to be used to park the Airbus fleet?

 

[i fly boxes]

The 737-900 is a replacement unfortunately for the 757s

 

[General Lee]

Am I reading this right? Delta wants A320s for replacement of 50 seater RJs? I thought Delta wanted the NWA A319/320s gone within a couple years, and that the 100 737-900s order was going to be used to park the Airbus fleet?

No, it looks like DL wants 24-30 narrowbodies (to replace other older narrowbodies), but they will do the deal if one of the manufacturers takes a bunch of 50 seaters in the process. The 737-900ERs will replace a certain number of older NWA 757-200s (ones without winglets), some older A320s that are nearing the cycle limit, and some domestic 767-300s. There are 30 options left for additional 737-900ERs, but this order may be totally different (looking at new A320s shows that). Bombardier accepted 60 50 seaters in the exchange for new 76 seaters I believe, so maybe mainline is looking for a similar deal?


Bye Bye---General Lee