Delta buys 100 Max jets in first big order from Boeing in more than a decade

Delta Airlines buy 100 Boeing The 737 Max 10, the first major order for new aircraft from the US manufacturer in more than a decade.

The deal includes options to purchase another 30 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2025.

The new order is good news for Boeing as Airbus recently won high-profile sales, including from several state-owned airlines in China. Boeing regretted the trade tensions when this was announced.

Delta said Monday that the order will modernize its tight fleet as the carrier seeks to capitalize on a rebound in travel after a record slump caused by covid pandemic. She said the Max planes will be between 20% and 30% more fuel efficient than the planes they will replace.

Atlanta-based Delta is the only one of the four largest US airlines not to order new Boeings in recent years, favoring Airbus because it has bolstered its narrow, long-range fleet. Delta retired older Boeing 777 aircraft during the pandemic and took delivery of more Airbus A350 twin-aisle aircraft.

The 737 Max has been grounded for at least 18 months after the second of two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 together killed 346 people. The United States lifted the ban in November 2020. During that period, Delta’s competitors faced capacity limitations due to temporarily halting deliveries of the new Maxes.

The Max 10 is the largest in the narrow-body Max family and has yet to receive government approval. Boeing hopes to get approval for the planes before the end of the year. Regulations passed in the wake of the two accidents will require new aircraft to be equipped with a cockpit alert system.

Delta CEO, Ed Bastian, had previously hinted at an order for the Max jets. When asked at a recent investor conference about a potential order for narrow-body aircraft, Bastian said, “We’ve been trying to reach an agreement with Boeing on that…and hopefully we can find out.”

Delta will configure the plane with 182 seats: 129 in Standard Economy Class, 33 in Comfort + with extra legroom and 20 in First Class.

Boeing shares are up 4% in pre-market trading, while Delta shares are up more than 2%.

Most of Delta’s new orders in recent years have come from European Airbus.

In 2017, Delta was in the midst of a trade dispute between Boeing and Canada’s Bombardier, then producers of the C-Series narrow-body aircraft, which Delta had ordered. Boeing alleged Bombardier was selling planes for less than cost, a condition they eventually lost. Airbus later acquired the program, renaming the aircraft to the A220.