Does anyone know why Delta scrapped its B787 order and ordered the A350? I thought American airlines generally favoured Boeing over Airbus? Plus it means IF has a Delta B787 livery when it doesn’t exist :(
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Hello!
This should belong in #real-world-aviation! But on to your question.
The A350 is just a very good next-generation aircraft. Certainly, Delta thinks so. Delta has labeled the A350 its flagship aircraft, moving the designation from the Boeing 747, which retired last year.
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Because Delta didn’t order B787-8s. Northwest did. That’s why;)
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According to a Delta official, “Boeing and Airbus both gave us good offers, but Airbus ultimately won out”. I guess Delta saw a better deal in canceling the 787 orders and switching over to the A350.
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In the end, it’s just the airlines preference. As @HiFlyer mentioned, both Airbus and Boeing gave offers but somewhere in the long discussions and negotiations that took place, Airbus got the upper hand.
As for me, well the A350 is a beast and I’m glad Delta has purchased more! 😉
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I also prefer the A350 so I’m not complaining but just a little surprised. Hopefully they end up using it on the Sydney-Los Angeles route
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Airbus probably had the best offer. I personally really appreciate Deltas decision since both AA and United have the B787 as their „Next Generation“ aircraft.
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I think this is a decision almost every long haul airline has had to make. Some made the choice before the A350, but I think they all have. Delta just prefired the A350 for what they wanted. Probably the higher capacity at long range. The 787 just didn’t suit the routes they were going to do. Especially since it is a bit of a replacement to there 777-200LRs, while the 777X is the technical replacement, the A350 comes closer than the 787 from what I’ve seen…
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Boeing likely offered them the B787 with huge discounts however the A350 gives them a huge advantage over any American carrier who has taken the B787 init their fleet because the comfort on the A350 makes Delta the best airline in regards to comfort on board compared to American and United with the B787. The plane may look cool but the only reason they sell as many as they do is because of huge discounts and clearly Delta wants an aircraft that people will actually benefit from, not just to save themselves money. The A350 has been in service with delta for a while now and it’s proven to be extremely popular!
My comments come from my own views and from various news articles from last years regarding the competition between the ‘big three’ in relation to the next generation of long haul aircraft they have ordered.
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From what I have heard, Delta was going to buy the 787 originally, but since it was beginning it’s launch, it saw many problems with the 787 in other airlines. (Fuel issues mainly) So they switched to the A350.
Well, Northwest Airlines originally ordered them back in 2005ish. The order was originally kept by Delta when they bought NWA, but later cancelled in favour of the A350
+1 @Chatta290 Delta actually is retrofitting/retrofitted their 777’s and bucking the trend by keeping things more comfortable at 3-3-3 (9 across) seating in economy. That’s a HUGE deal for the long haul flying most 777’s do. Those refits plus the A350 will bring up the long haul comfort factor on DL vs the 3-4-3/10 across seating on most 777 operators now that’s quite cramped and I think DL is wagering on winning that PaxEx battle. Definitely love to see Airlines think of the folks down back like this.
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I think it could be due to the A350 having “common type rating” with the A330 meaning very little training is required.
So Delta doesn’t have 787?
No. They were going to originally, but canceled their order.
There have been problems recently with wing flex being to flimsey this could have been a factor in why they cancelled
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