Delta to Expand Airbus A321-200 Aircraft Order; Defer 10 A350 Deliveries

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May 11, 2017, 08:30 ET

ATLANTA, May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) has agreed with Airbus SE to place an expanded A321-200 order for 30 firm additional aircraft and to defer 10 of the airline's 25 A350-900 aircraft deliveries set for 2019-2020 by two to three years with additional delivery flexibility.

Delta's delivery schedule for its first A350-900 aircraft remains in place and the airline plans to operate its first A350 revenue flight in the fourth quarter, featuring the Delta One Suite and Premium Select cabin. Delta expects to take delivery of five A350s in 2017.

"These agreements better align our widebody and narrowbody order books with our fleet replacement needs," said Gil West, Delta's Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "We appreciate the partnership of Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GE Aviation as we exercise what's best for our business, our employees and our customers."

Delta currently operates 19 A321s and this expansion will bring the total firm delivery aircraft from 82 to 112 by 2021. The A321 aircraft will primarily be deployed on U.S. domestic routes as older domestic-gauge aircraft retire during the next several years.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 180 million customers each year. In 2017, Delta was named to Fortune's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the sixth time in seven years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented six consecutive years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 323 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta, and Facebook.com/delta.