Delta Air Lines has ordered 31 more Airbus wide-body jets to expand its intercontinental fleet.
The Atlanta-based airline on Tuesday added 16 A330-900s and 15 A350-900s to its order with Airbus, the planemaker said in a statement. Deliveries will begin in 2029.
The deal comes as Delta makes significant investments in its future intercontinental fleet. Many of the long-haul aircraft currently operated by the company, particularly the Boeing 767s flying over the Atlantic, are more than 25 years old. Aircraft are typically retired and replaced when they are 25 or 30 years old, but with proper maintenance they can continue flying for much longer.
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In early January, Delta Air Lines ordered up to 60 Boeing 787-10s for the same purpose: to replace older twin-aisle aircraft after deliveries begin in 2031.
All of these new aircraft help bring Delta’s premium product promotion to life. For example, the 787-10 offers more space between the first two doors to sell more Delta One Business Class suites. This, in turn, opens up additional space behind the second door that can accommodate lucrative premium economy seats.
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Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said the new A330s and A350s the airline ordered on Tuesday could do the same.
“These aircraft will enhance our capabilities and enhance our premium product as we expand our international operations and prepare our fleet to serve expanding long-haul markets,” he said in a statement.
The A330-900s and A350-900s can fly almost anywhere on the Delta map. Schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows the airline exclusively uses the former to fly to Europe and South America – they have also flown to Asia in the past few years – while the latter flies to Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
As of the latest deal, Delta currently has outstanding Airbus orders for 16 A330-900s, 19 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, based on the aircraft manufacturer’s year-end order numbers.
Delta’s wide-body fleet included 121 A330s and A350s and 60,767s as of the end of December, according to airline and Airbus data.
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