Delta Air Lines has no need to begin long-term widebody fleet replacement "any time soon", says its president Ed Bastian.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference in London, he described reports that the airline is studying a purchase of further Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s as "interesting", but said he did not see such an order as "necessary in the near future".
He says Delta's policy of "updating and modernising" its aircraft means it has the youngest widebody fleet among the major US carriers, with an average age of 12 years, and as such it has no "additional needs".
"We made a decision several years ago that we were not going to be growing that widebody fleet," he adds, noting that the airline recently invested around $1 billion on refurbishing its aircraft interiors.
Delta's only unfulfilled widebody order is for 18 Boeing 787-8s plus 50 options. With deliveries scheduled from 2020 onwards, Bastian says this is far enough in the future for the SkyTeam carrier not to have to consider altering its plans.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
