Delta considering 787 buy — someday

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, November 17, 2005

It may not have cash now, but Delta Air Lines eventually will have to replace its big fleet of 767s, so it’s keeping a close eye on Boeing’s 787 development, the airline’s director of fleet strategy said Thursday.

I didn’t write anything about it in today’s story for The Herald http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/11/18/100loc_a787001.cfm — it seemed logical to me that our readers in Everett would be more interested in the potential for a second 787 line here than in Delta’s long-range fleet plans.

(Key Quote from that one: “A large number of questions must be answered first, said Marty Bentrott, Boeing’s vice president of sales and marketing for the 787. But he added, ‘The response from customers is more sooner is better.’”)

But it was something the Chicago Tribune picked up on. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0511180122nov18,1,5310419.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Key Quote: “‘We are in the early stages of making comparisons in this aircraft category, including the A350,’ Ed Lohr, Delta’s director of network and fleet strategy, said Thursday … ‘The Boeing airplane is impressive and has greater detail as to what it really is, but we will know more in the coming year.’”

Lohr, noted at the press conference that his airline is the world’s largest operator of 767s, with more than 100 of them in the fleet. Therefore, a big 787 order would be “a natural follow-on … for when we start thinking about replacing our 767 fleet.”

Delta is most-interested in 787-8s, Lohr said. However, he did note that the airline uses 767s on short- to mid-range domestic flights across the United States. Given that, I wouldn’t be shocked if Delta eventually does order some -3s.

When will that be? Good question. Lohr said Delta doesn’t have a timeline for that decision.

All the big U.S. legacy carriers were in Seattle this week for the 787 update conference, Lohr said. That includes United and American, which, like Delta, aren’t in a position to buy right now.

That’s one of the factors going into Boeing’s decision-making on a second Everett 787 line, Bentrott said. They may be down now, but those airlines are going to come knocking some day, they’re going to want a lot of planes and Boeing will have to find production slots for them, or lose the business.