Delta to adjust fleet quickly after Northwest merger

[Matt Molnar]

AP:

Delta to adjust fleet quickly after Northwest deal
By JOSHUA FREED 10.01.08, 6:22 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS -

Within months of Delta's buyout of Northwest, the airline will begin shifting its planes around to put them on the right routes, a Delta executive said on Wednesday.

The two fleets will operate separately until after the federal government signs off on a joint operating certificate, which could take much of next year. But they don't have to wait that long to shift planes to different routes, with the potential for Northwest 747s to fly out of Atlanta, for instance.

"We can move our planes around as soon as the merger is complete," said Joanne Smith, Delta Air Lines Inc. (nyse: DAL - news - people )'s senior vice president of in-flight service, speaking at a breast cancer fundraiser at a Northwest Airlines Corp. (nyse: NWA - news - people ) hangar on Wednesday. [Full Article]

[Delta777LR]

Any chance we will see the DL's 747s and A330s at JFK? That would be very neat if that was to happen.

[flyboy 28]

Or how about a DL DC-9 with the widget again. :borat:

[Matt Molnar]

Any chance we will see the DL's 747s and A330s at JFK? That would be very neat if that was to happen.

Anything is possible at this point. I'd say we'll definitely see them at some point, even if it's just as an equipment sub.

[Delta777LR]

Or how about a DL DC-9 with the widget again. :borat:

I dont think DL is going to keep the DC-9s.. I dont think there will even be a DC-9 in the colors of DL since they are fuel guzzlers and I think they will be replaced by fuel efficient aircraft. Probably more 73Gs or maybe E190/195s

Im a bit surprised that DL will be keeping the A319 and A320s around... And if im not mistaking I think once DL gets A319/A320s from NW, that might be the time DL will retire the MD-88s and MD-90s. But I could be wrong.

[LGA777]

Personally long term it does not make sense to operate 737 family, A-320 family, and MD-88/90. It just seems like the logical way to go is keep the NW 319/320's and retire the DL MD88/90 fleet. The Airbus fleet is newer, quieter, more fuel efficient, much longer range, and with the MD88 being the smallest ML member of the DL fleet (am not counting the 73G as there I think only 3 of them) the 319 has a capacity better suited to many markets.

Some would say go all 737NG and in the distant future that is a possibulity but the captial required to replace all the MD88/90/319/320 would not only be HUGE but think how many years it would take for Boeing to build all those 737's. The great looking 737-900ER would sure make a nice MD-90 replacement IMO.

My two cents

LGA777

[Iberia A340-600]

I would not be surprised to see Delta move most of the A330-300 fleet to their New York European routes since all aircraft are equipped with modern interiors.

[Lezam]

I wonder how they are going to integrate the frequent flyer programs?

[BoeingSAN]

The merging of Northwest and Delta’s fleets is a topic that is interesting to me, because there is just so much speculation with it. What stays, what goes and what is based where.

Last year Richard Anderson had said the MD-90 had a cheaper operating cost compared to the 737-800 for Delta. They have been looking for more aircraft because of that, and because they are cheap to pick up (or so rumors have said).

One thing to keep in mind with the MD-88 fleet is that it is not all that old. Some of Northwest A320’s showed up before many MD-88s.

If I am not mistaken, Boeing is a creditor to Delta, meaning I would find it hard to believe the Airbuses would have much of a future with the airline. I think there is a good chance that they never see Delta paint and are operated under the Northwest name until they can be replaced.

The 767-400 line is separate from the 763, I think it is possible, if they wanted, to quickly replace the A330’s with the 764.

I personally think the DC-9’s time is limited. Part of the reason for the merger is to cut capacity, parking the DC-9 fleet is one way to do that.

Here is a thought…and that’s all it is. 12 Boeing 717s are available with Midwest cutting back, the Midwest 717s would be better used in a all economy configuration, not all business configuration that Midwest had. Delta picks up the 717’s and puts them on the Shuttle routes. That frees up the MD-88s currently on the Shuttle route making it easier to cut the DC-9 fleet, and even some of the oldest A320s.

One thing is for sure, it will be pretty interesting to watch how it all plays out.

[cancidas]

The merging of Northwest and Delta’s fleets is a topic that is interesting to me, because there is just so much speculation with it. What stays, what goes and what is based where.

Last year Richard Anderson had said the MD-90 had a cheaper operating cost compared to the 737-800 for Delta. They have been looking for more aircraft because of that, and because they are cheap to pick up (or so rumors have said).

One thing to keep in mind with the MD-88 fleet is that it is not all that old. Some of Northwest A320’s showed up before many MD-88s.

If I am not mistaken, Boeing is a creditor to Delta, meaning I would find it hard to believe the Airbuses would have much of a future with the airline. I think there is a good chance that they never see Delta paint and are operated under the Northwest name until they can be replaced.

The 767-400 line is separate from the 763, I think it is possible, if they wanted, to quickly replace the A330’s with the 764.

I personally think the DC-9’s time is limited. Part of the reason for the merger is to cut capacity, parking the DC-9 fleet is one way to do that.

Here is a thought…and that’s all it is. 12 Boeing 717s are available with Midwest cutting back, the Midwest 717s would be better used in a all economy configuration, not all business configuration that Midwest had. Delta picks up the 717’s and puts them on the Shuttle routes. That frees up the MD-88s currently on the Shuttle route making it easier to cut the DC-9 fleet, and even some of the oldest A320s.

One thing is for sure, it will be pretty interesting to watch how it all plays out.

that's an interesting idea for sure, and it would be nice to see some more 717s here at LGA. i just don't see DAL going out to buy more airplanes. i wonder though if the DC-9s (and some A320s) were parked how many MD-88s would be needed to cover that flying.

[BoeingSAN]

I think I made an error, Midwest is returning 16 Boeing 717s, not 12.

I think the move could be a short term one. Since there seems to be little demand for the aircraft it would probably be cheap to pick up, and have cheaper operating cost compared to the DC-9. I could see where it improve numbers on Shuttle flights too…

I would think the E-175 or E-190 would also be good for the Shuttle route. The difference is they would be new aircraft and not what the 717 is. If it were picked up and later to be replaced by the Embraer, the 717 could still be used. It could work well on some routes, such as some routes out of CVG.

Not every aircraft has to be replaced one for one (parking DC-9s and A320s).