Delta plans fleet growth with Boeing 737 Max 10 and 787-10 to boost efficiency
Executives plan what they call “efficient” growth with the new Boeing models. Delta Air Lines will use both the 737 Max 10 and 787-10 for “efficient” growth by replacing older, smaller aircraft with the larger, more capable models, commercial chief Joe Esposito said during a quarterly earnings call on 10 July. “Larger airplanes make us more efficient and give us that extra capacity,” he says. The plans are the latest in Delta’s decade-plus fleet upgauging programme that began with the replacement of 50-seat regional jets with the Boeing 717 in the mid-2010s. This continued into the 2020s with the replacement of ageing McDonnell Douglas MD-88s and MD-90s with new Airbus A321s and, later, A321neos. The upgauging programme has, by all measures, been a success. Delta is the margin-leading network carrier in the USA and the industry has largely followed in its footsteps. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines have all moved to replace smaller aircraft with larger narrowbodies over the past decade. The first step for Delta begins in 2027 with the arrival of the long-delayed 737 Max 10. The airline ordered up to 130 aircraft at the Farnborough air show in 2022 with deliveries from 2025, however, certification delays pushed back the first delivery to next year. “We expect to see that in Delta colours next year,” Ed Bastian, the chief executive of Delta, says on the Max 10. The airline expects up to 27 aircraft in 2027. Boeing has indicated that Max 10 certification will follow closely after the Max 7, which could receive US Federal Aviation Administration sign-off as soon as this month. Once the Max 10 begins arriving, Delta will use the aircraft that seats roughly 190 passengers in a standard two-class layout to replace older 717s and 757s, says Bastian. Alaska, American and United also have orders for the Max 10, though Canada’s WestJet is expected to take delivery of the first aircraft . Delta’s first of 30 787-10s is not scheduled to arrive until 2031. When deliveries begin, the airline will use it to replace older Boeing 767s, including both -300ERs and -400ERs, particularly on transatlantic flights, Esposito says. “When you think about the 787 that replaces a 767, that's a significant amount of efficiency and margin premium,” he says. “You're going from 30% premium seating in a 767 to over 50% in a 787, and it can handle twice the cargo. The continent of Europe falls into the bucket of domestic efficiency but on the widebody side.” The 787-10 can seat up to 375 passengers in a standard two-class layout, though United configures its -10s with just 318 seats. Delta’s 767-300ERs seat up to 216 passengers and its 767-400ERs seat 238 passengers.