Delta Air Lines, who recently merged with Northwest Airlines, is expected to change Northwest’s order with The Boeing Company. Northwest’s current order for 18 787-8s, 50 options, might get changed into 777 orders, said the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Nothing is official yet, but we’re likely to see an official release soon.
You might know that Delta’s fleet consists of quite a few 777-200LRs for long haul routes. A change to the 777-200LR for Northwest means better fleet commonality, and this change may mean more revenue for Boeing, since the 777 is typically more costly than the 787-8.
It’s a great move for Delta. The fewer types of aircraft, the better (as long as you can serve your routes sufficiently). Fleet commonality can significantly reduce costs; just look at Southwest Airlines. However, I am a bit unhappy to see that I may not ever see a 787 in Northwest or Delta colors.
