On January 12, 2024, Delta Air Lines and Airbus announced that the airline ordered 20 A350-1000 widebodies to be delivered in the second half of this decade.
Continue reading to learn more.
Delta Air Lines Orders 20 A350-1000s
As per the announcement, Delta Air Lines will take delivery of the 20 newly ordered Airbus A350-1000s between 2026 and 2028. The aircraft will help Delta with both “replacing retiring planes and fueling growth” according to the announcement.
This is the first time Delta ordered the longer variant of the A350. However, the airline already operates a sizeable fleet of the smaller A350-900. It currently has 28 airframes with 16 more on order.
By the end of this decade, Delta is expected to have a fleet of over 60 A350s including over 40 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s.
Soon to Be Delta Air Lines’ New Largest Aircraft Type
Currently, Delta has a very diverse fleet of almost 1,000 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, split fairly evenly between two airframers. Of those, just over 160 are widebodies including, in the order of their passenger capacity (lowest to highest): A330-200, 767-300ER, 767-400ER, A330-900, A330-300, and A350-900.
While Delta operates the A350-900 in a number of different configurations, the highest-density one – which also happens to be the airline’s highest-capacity aircraft – can fit 339 passengers.
With the A350-900 being Delta’s largest aircraft right now, the A350-1000 will, naturally, take over that distinction once it enters into service with the airline.
Commenting on that, Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian noted “The A350-1000 will be the largest, most capable aircraft in Delta’s fleet and is an important step forward for our international expansion.” He added, “The aircraft complements our fleet and offers an elevated customer experience, with more premium seats and best-in-class amenities, as well as expanded cargo capabilities.”
In the past, Delta operated Boeing 777-200ER/LRs (until 2020) and 747-400 (until 2017). The former is similar in size to the A350-900 while the latter is larger than both of the A350 variants. Delta got hold of the 747s through its merger with Northwest Airlines.
Not Enough Ordred Aircraft to Replace Delta’s Aging Widebodies
Currently, Delta has 48 widebody aircraft on order including the 36 A350s talked about earlier in this article and 12 A330-900s. While that is a lot in absolute terms, for an airline the scale and fleet age of Delta, it is nowhere near enough in relative terms. Especially so if Delta wants to use the A350-1000s both for old aircraft replacement and growth.
For comparison, Delta’s aging widebodies include:
- 10+ A330-200s almost 19 years old on average
- 30+ A330-300s about 15 years old on average
- 40+ 767-300ERs almost 28 years old on average
- 20+ 767-400ERs just over 23 years old on average
Given that some of Delta’s 767-300ERs are well over 30 years old (the oldest one still active, N171DN, is almost 34 years old), many of the aircraft still probably have at least a good portion of a decade in service if not more ahead of them.
That said, at some point, Delta will need to order more aircraft to replace its current widebody fleet. While it remains to be seen what those orders will look like, they are probably going to be a mix of A330neos and A350s.
Summary
After some period of rumors about Delta being close to ordering Airbus widebodies, the airline finally placed an order for 20 A350-1000s, a new type for its fleet. Once in service, the A350-1000 will be the largest aircraft in Delta’s fleet, surpassing its current largest type – the A350-900.
The aircraft will be delivered between 2026 and 2028.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see what cabin configuration Delta chooses for the A350-1000 and what routes it will deploy the type on initially.
