But Don't Expect Big Orders Anytime Soon

When it comes to aircraft fleets, the proposed joining of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines represents a mixed bag... akin to inviting ALL your family, even the less-desirable members, to your wedding.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports the merger of a loyal Boeing customer, Delta, with Northwest -- one of Airbus's best customers -- begs the question, which planemaker, if any, will see a windfall?

So far, Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who will oversee the merged carrier, isn't offering any direct answers. "You are basically going to have a very balanced fleet between Boeing and Airbus, and we would expect that would be the case going forward," Anderson said Tuesday.

Delta currently operates large numbers of Boeing 767 and 777 widebodies, in addition to  smaller fleets of 757s and 737s. Delta also operates MD-88 and MD-90 narrowbody planes, built by the former McDonnell-Douglas. Those planes are the younger relatives to Northwest's fleet of geriatric... but paid-for... DC-9s.

Many industry pundits believe those aging DC-9s will be the first to go, assuming federal regulators allow the proposed merger to go through. But things become less clear when talking of Northwest's sizable Airbus fleet, which includes A319 and A320 narrowbodies. The carrier is also the largest operator of the Airbus A330 twinjet, which it employs on many overseas routes.

The A330 has proven itself a worthy addition to Northwest's long-haul fleet, which also includes a handful of Boeing 747-400s. However, the carrier also has 18 Boeing 787s on order, with options on another 50. Given Delta's preference for Boeing products -- and the fact Delta is the one keeping its name, and executive team, in the merger -- it's likely those options will be exercised.

Northwest CEO Doug Steenland, who will join the new airline's board of directors, acknowledged that scenario Monday. "If anything, it increases the likelihood that the options will be exercised for the 787 to accommodate the expanding international network," he said.

Delta has 52 unfilled orders with Boeing, for 46 737s and six 777s. Northwest has taken most of the plane it ordered from Airbus over the last few years.

And then there's the exclusive pact Delta, along with American and Continental, signed with Boeing in the 1990s -- promising to only purchase Boeing planes over the next 20 years. Those pacts were reworked in 1997, in order to gain European approval for Boeing's takeover of McDonnell Douglas... but to date, none of those three airlines has purchased an Airbus plane since, though they are legally allowed to do so.

In the near-term, chances are neither planemaker will see any new orders from a merged Delta/NWA... as executives will be too busy integrating workforces, dealing with the inevitable labor disputes, and coordinating operations and schedules.

When the time comes for the new Delta-branded mega-airline to order new planes, however, there are several indications Airbus may see one of its best US customers disappear.

FMI: www.newglobalairline.com, www.airbus.com, www.boeing.com