Delta Air Lines has ordered 15 Airbus A321ceos (current engine option).
The aircraft will be powered by CFM56-5B engines and will replace aircraft – most likely 757s – currently slated for retirement, and are scheduled to be delivered from 2018.
Delta already operates 126 A320 Family airliners and has a further 30 A321s on backlog not counting the latest order. Airbus says a proportion of the Delta aircraft will be assembled at the company’s new final assembly line currently being built at Mobile in Alabama which is scheduled to start delivering aircraft from 2015.
“The A321’s economic efficiency and product offering relative to the aircraft they will replace ensures that this opportunistic transaction will enhance profitability, customer satisfaction, and shareholder value for Delta,” Delta’s Vice President – Fleet Strategy and Transactions, Nathaniel Pieper said in a statement.
The production of A320ceos and the re-engined A320NEO is expected to overlap by some years while the ceo backlog is cleared.
