Delta Air Lines has officially ordered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, adding the popular widebody aircraft type to its longhaul fleet for the first time.
Delta Air Lines Orders Boeing 787 Dreamliners
Delta has placed a firm order for 30 Boeing 787-10 aircraft, with options for 30 more, marking the airline’s first purchase of the Dreamliner family. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2031.
Per Delta, “The 787-10 is an ideal addition to Delta’s Transatlantic and South American network, offering 25% better fuel efficiency per seat, more capacity, larger premium cabins, and enhanced cargo capability compared to the previous generation widebody aircraft it will replace.”
Delta already operates a diverse longhaul fleet, including Airbus A330s, A350s, and Boeing 767 aircraft. The 787-10 will give Delta a high-capacity, fuel-efficient widebody designed for intercontinental travel, though with less range than the smaller 787 variants.
Why Delta Chose The 787-10
Delta’s decision to order the 787-10, rather than the 787-8 or 787-9, is telling. The -10 is optimized for capacity rather than ultra-long-haul flying, making it well-suited for dense transatlantic routes and other high-demand markets.
The aircraft seats more passengers than Delta’s existing A330-900neos and is expected to offer lower operating costs per seat, while still delivering the cabin advantages the Dreamliner is known for, including higher humidity, larger windows, and lower cabin altitude.
This order also fits neatly into Delta’s ongoing effort to modernize its fleet while gradually retiring older widebodies, particularly the Boeing 767s that still form the backbone of its transatlantic network.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian explained:
“Delta is building the fleet for the future, enhancing the customer experience, driving operational improvements and providing steady replacements for less efficient, older aircraft in the decade to come. Most importantly, these aircraft will be operated by the best aviation professionals in the industry, providing Delta’s welcoming, elevated and caring service to travelers worldwide.”
With this order, Delta continues its strategy of operating multiple widebody types while maintaining flexibility across its network. The airline has not yet announced cabin configurations or onboard products for the 787, though it has explicitly said to expect a more premium-heavy layout consistent with Delta’s long-term pivot to premium.
While the 787 will complement the Airbus A350 fleet, it should eventually help Delta retire its 767-300, A330-200 (and later 767-400) fleet.
Political Angle?
I cannot help but point out a political angle as well. After preferring European-made Airbus for years, Delta said:
“This order underscores the strength of the U.S. aerospace industry and advanced manufacturing, with both the aircraft and its GE engines designed and manufactured in the United States.”
Just last week in Seattle at a Boeing-Alaska Airlines signing ceremony, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy made very clear what a high priority it was for the Trump administration for U.S. airlines to buy aircraft and engines made in the United States.
Basitan is not the Trump brown-noser that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is, but this deal does seem aimed also at gaining praise from the current administration.
> Read More: My Conversation With U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy…
CONCLUSION
Delta’s Boeing 787 order has been rumored, and it’s now official. The airline is adding a modern, high-capacity widebody that fits squarely into its existing international strategy, while giving Delta another tool as it refreshes an aging fleet.
Remember all the nuts online who said Delta was ‘premium’ because its widebodies didn’t have the ‘narrow’ coach seating of the 787. Another domino falls.
Following United as usual
Wonder what the first routes to use this plane will be.
Amsterdam, Paris, and London from Atlanta, Detroit, JFK, and MSP?
Smart move having large fleets of aircraft from the two big airframe manufacturers.
It lets both know that you are expecting good pricing and good service.
You also hedge your bets against current and future supply chain disruptions.
first, DL’s “backbone” aircraft across the Atlantic is the 330, not the 767. DL has about 20 more 330s – both CEOs and 900s – and a big chunk of the 763 fleet flies domestic flights. Add in that the 333s and 339s – nearly all of the 330 fleet have 50 seats more than the 763 fleet and also more than the 764s and it isn’t hard to see that the 330 is and will be DL’s TATL backbone for years to come.
The 787-10 fleet will grow in size and will carry more people but it will easily be 10 years and likely longer before Boeing overtakes Airbus over the Atlantic for DL.
As for politics, it was a given long before this order that DL would replace their 767 fleet with Boeing’s. After ordering 320family aircraft for years, DL specifically noted that the MAX 10s would replace early 320/319 aircraft.
As for seat size, the 767 is the best airplane for economy comfort w/ just one middle seat; there are no middle seats in premium economy. No narrowbody will match that. Only the 330 comes in better in terms of seat width and percentage of aisle or window seats.
and the most notable part of this order is that DL will lead the US industry in upgauging its widebody fleet just as it did with domestic narrowbody aircraft. The 20 A350-1000s will be 75-100 seats larger than the 767s and the 787-10s will likely be similar in terms of number of seats.
While AA and UA think they can get a revenue premium by using smaller, less comfortable narrowbody aircraft – the 321XLR – DL is committed to larger, more economical aircraft.
There has never been a niche aircraft succeed where larger aircraft can also work.
We snobs, may complain about the dated business class seats on the 767, but I quite agree that from an economy class perspective, the 767 is best and the A330 a close second.
Yes. 2-3-2 in the back is better for couples than the 3-3-3 on a350 or 3-4-3 on 773/747/a380. Also, as much as we give Tim/Delta trouble for the 763, the ability to use a RUC or GUC on a Main to D1 confirmed upgrade is sweet; whereas, 764, a350, 339, etc. we’d need to pay more for Premium Select to get confirmed D1. Just sayin…
And, Matthew, though I’ve never flown PE, it is 2-2-2 on 767s. That means an aisle-loving solo traveler like me can grab a seat in the middle section and have direct aisle access with no seatmate ever asking you to let them out.
Note that DL has 81 A330 and 58 B767 jetliners in its current fleet… On the other hand, the American global carrier has just announced that it has placed its first direct order for up to 60 B787 Dreamliners to support long-haul international growth and renew the airline’s widebody fleet. DELTA’s purchase of 30 B787-10 jets, with opportunity for up to 30 more of the largest B787 variant, will enable the airline’s expansion and modernization plans on high-demand transatlantic and South American routes.
I mean Tim, don’t you mean that it is catching up with upgauging its wide-body fleet? DL averages 260 seats per widebody aircraft, UA is at about 272 – and UA is more premium heavy in its configs (E.g. it has the 767 High J config with only 167 seats) so to say Delta is “leading the US Industry” – you really mean catching up.
and UA is adding XLRs which will decrease average gauge, Andy, and that is before the ~225 seat 789s enter service but UA won’t be able to translate that into a revenue or profit premium any more than AA can with its 777Ws that will have 70 business class seats.
AA and UA keep adding more business class seats but their revenue performance does not catch up w/ DL that is also adding business class seats but still has more total seats onboard.
the principle is clear – upgauging has worked well for airlines on domestic routes and DL led the legacies in doing that but AA and UA still cling to more RJs than DL – and that is part of why DL’s profits surpass AA and UA.
DL just crushed the hopes that AA and UA’s A321XLRs will get a revenue premium by putting larger and more capable widebodies over the Atlantic compared to the XLR.
A very smart decision from the management of a giant American airline, whose current average fleet age is 15 years…
This deal seems to be aimed at gaining praise from the current administration? You are joking right? This was one of the worst kept secrets in the aviation industry that dates back to the do nothing Biden Administration and yet you say this deal is about getting praise from the Trump Administration. Delta also selected GE’s GEnx engine not just to power their upcoming 787s but they also have an agreement with GE to service Genx engines which is probably what held up this announcement seeing that Delta Tech Ops is a huge MRO services provider. Having that agreement with GE will allow Delta to not only overhaul and repair their own GEnx engines but also GEnx engines for other airlines.
Going back to the aircraft looking at the data the 787-10 beats the A339NEO in nearly every metric. The A339NEO has failed to live up to its potential so why order additional A339NEOs when the 787-10 is clearly better in the short and mid haul TATL markets.
To say this order was aim to gain praise from the current administration is crazy given the fact the 787-10 is the better aircraft on 6-12 hour flights compared to the A339NEO and also give how extensive this agreement is when taking into account the MRO deal with GE.
I’m really talking about the way the press release was phrased more than anything else…of course Delta didn’t buy these jets to appease Trump or Duffy, but the purchase has the added value of doing exactly that.
It’s necessary to learn to adapt to the times in which one live, and Ed Bastian & Co know how to do that very well.
Delta has been trying to take 787s for about 15 years.
1st time was the early build 787s which NW ordered as a launch customer
2nd time was when DL invited Boeing to big for DLs new generation fleet that went to Airbus specifically because of the low acquisition cost of the A330-900 as a derivative (not a new build) and because Rolls Royce gave DL maintenance and overhaul rights on all Rolls Royce new generation engines.
DL got the engine overhaul rights from GE as part of this order and also is going w/ the largest version of the 787 which wasn’t a consideration at the time because they wanted a TPAC plane.
Airbus has delivered DL’s widebodies on-time, the A350 is the largest and most capable new generation aircraft with the most range, and so the 787-10 fits in nicely now as a large TATL and S. America aircraft.
Too bad DL didn’t order them sooner and won’t be getting any 787-10s until 2031.
rebel,
and yet DL will be getting at least 20 A350-1000s which are similarly sized and yet far more capable across the Pacific where they will directly be used to reduce UA’s advantage
and given that UA is putting so much faith in the XLR, DL’s 787-10s carry about twice the number of seats as an XLR and do it with far lower costs per seat mile and far more performance – but that is basically true about any widebody compared to the XLR.
UA isn’t waiting until 2031. They have 21 78Xs now along with 48 789s & 12 788s with 20 more coming this year and a total of 230 current wide body aircraft compared to DL with 53 fewer wide bodies and no 78Xs.
I am still waiting on that list of markets UA is missing out on by not having the A350-1000s that won’t be coming to Delta until 2027 now after countless delays. Smart move by DL copying AA & UA on the business class seats. Hopefully, they won’t have to park them, remove the engines and install temporary business class seats after taking delivery like DL did with their A321Neos. You said the latest estimate is July for the NEOs with the temporary last-gen seats? Yikes!
since DL hasn’t even loaded schedules for the 35K, it is impossible to know what UA will miss out on but the 35K will carry about 100 passengers more than UA’s most premium and longest distance aircraft, the premium 787-9.
It doesn’t take calculus or being a rocket scientist to realize that DL will have a size and efficiency advantage across the Atlantic and to S. America with its 764/330/787 strategy and across the Pacific with its 350s.
the 359 already carries more passengers further than AA or UA can do with any aircraft in their fleets and do it at lower costs per passenger.
and, AA and UA copied each other with the same new business class seat while both AA and UA are about a decade behind DL in putting suites with doors on their aircraft which is why DL has an 80 aircraft headstart.
and Matthew has yet to discuss UA’s Pratt 777 issue which Gary and Cranky have both covered. As a pretty committed UA fan, the prospect that UA could have to early retire a bunch of 777s or see them lose transoceanic capability because UA can’t get the parts and reliability to make those engines work anymore IS a major issue which UA has no choice but to address with more than just its grow, grow, grow strategy to the exclusion of fleet replacement over the past 5 years.
Still waiting on those markets. And DL doesn’t need tons of capacity in the TPAC market they are a relatively small player. Don’t worry, UA has it covered with 81 787s now, 20 more in 2026 and probably 100 more before DL sees their first 787-10. Hopefully the DL A35xs won’t see more delays. Brutal.
I didn’t think so. UA has it covered.
Block Route
17h 40m SFO-SIN
17h 35m IAH-SYD
17h 10m DEL-EWR
16h 20m JNB-EWR
16h 10m CPT-IAD
16h 05m LAX-HKG
15h 55m SFO-ADL
15h 55m LAX-MEL
15h 55m SFO-MEL
15h 40m SFO-HKG
now tell us how many seats UA can ACTUALLY carry on flights of that length.
and, since you love to talk about the flight times, have you compared the flight times on directly competitive DL vs UA TPAC flights including the upcoming DL LAX-HKG?
looks like DL is pretty consistently scheduling for shorter flight times and still managing to get in on-time.
Is it really possible that the A350 flies faster or that DL’s dispatchers and pilots can manage to cut time that UA cannot?
you do understand how flights are displayed in travel systems, don’t you?
Says the blatant liar who falsely claimed DL management predicted the DL MRO would grow revenue 505% and profit 1,233% in a couple of years. Did you not think anyone would check such an outrageous whopper? Why lie about something so relatively insignificant? What a nutter you must be NickW, Ripinpeace, 1990, Tim Dunn?
the 787-10 is not popular at all
another typo?