Delta Air Lines MD-90
A little less than two weeks ago I took a look at Delta buying nine MD-90s from Japan Air Lines. Well, Dan Webb over on his blog Things in the Sky decided to take it to the next level and really dive into the MD-90 and I think it is very much worth sharing. Check out his story: Random Thoughts on Delta and the MD-90.
Delta Air Lines MD-90 (N908DA) in older livery with Mt. Rainier in the background.
Delta Air Lines has a very diverse fleet of aircraft. Delta currently flies the Boeing 737-700 and -800, the Airbus A319 and A320, the DC-9, MD-88 and has been adding additional MD-90s — which all compete with each other. A while back Delta announced they would be replacing their older DC-9s with newer aircraft and at first I assumed it might be with Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s in a move to simplify their fleet by getting rid of the entire DC-9/MD-80 family, but it looks like they are going to upgrade it. Why would Delta buy MD-90s instead of Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s? I think there are a few reasons.
The biggest is cost. To pick up a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 it is going to cost a heck of a lot more than purchasing a used MD-90. Yes, Delta will have to pay to re-do the interiors and the planes won’t be as fuel efficient as a brand new model, but the over all costs will still remain lower. Delta has a huge maintenance facility in Atlanta and would most likely continue to work on DC-9/MD-80 aircraft from other airlines, even if they got rid of their own fleet.
The MD-90s allows Delta to back fill the DC-9s and save additional time before completing an entire fleet renewal program. Delta just announced buying nine MD-90s from Japan Airlines (JAL) and they hope to find more in the future. Delta’s President Ed Bastian stated at a December investor presentation that Delta hopes to purchase about 50 MD-90 aircraft over the next two years.
Since Delta is looking to get so many MD-90 aircraft, could it make sense to purchase some Boeing 717s which are based off the MD-90? Maybe. Recently Southwest purchased AirTran, which has over 85 Boeing 717s. Currently, Southwest only has a fleet of Boeing 737s, it could be possibly they would want to be rid of the 717s. The problem is that Southwest is locked into a contract with Boeing for the aircraft and it is unlikely Boeing would want to let them out. If Delta plans to purchase a significant amount of new Boeing aircraft in the future, it could be negotiated to let Southwest out of their contract early (with Southwest’s approval, of course), allowing Delta to take control of the 717s.
“The MD-90 is a cost-effective aircraft that helps us more efficiently maintain our flying levels as we retire regional jets and DC-9s, so the additions won’t increase our capacity.” Delta spokesperson Trebor Banstetter told AirlineReporter.com. “We’ll continue to look for opportunities to acquire used MD-90s in the future as we retire DC-9s and smaller jets.”
Either way, I like the ‘ol MD-80 maddog family. I hear so many people complain about the aircraft and sure if you are sitting in the back by the engines, they can be a bit annoying. However, I love that 2-3 layout and the sound of their engines at full throttle during takeoff. I am glad to see an American airline will be keeping the maddog alive for years to come.
Image: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren
Delta ad on one of their seatback video displays.
On Monday, Delta Air Lines announced a new level of service coming to long-haul international flights: Economy Comfort. By summer 2011, more than 160 of Delta’s Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 and Airbus A330 will have the new Economy Comfort seats installed. The seats themselves aren’t that much of a change, but what comes with them is a pretty a nice improvement. The seats will give you four more inches of legroom and 50% more recline, but you are also going to get free drinks and premium boarding.
The obvious comparison is to United Airline’s Economy Plus. United flies Economy Plus on international and domestic flights and it has been a great way to create loyalty for their passengers.
To learn more and see a great comparison chart between Economy Comfort and Economy Plus, check out Brett Snyder’s blog, Cranky Flier.For some photos and even more information, check out Dan Webb’s blog, Things in the Sky.
There is strong competition between the world’s two largest airlines and it looks like Delta has just played their hand. United… it is your move.
This week, Delta Airline Lines celebrated their 70th year of being Atlanta’s hometown airline. This video helps to show how Delta changed from a small presence in Atlanta, when it moved from Monroe, LA in 1941 to now being the world’s largest airline. Over the years, Delta has grown to about 25,000 employees based just in Atlanta and adds over $25billion into the local economy.
“Delta Air Lines and Atlanta have a unique partnership that has been inextricably linked to the success and prosperity of our city and our airport for nearly three quarters of a century,’ said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. ’œThe strong relationships among companies such as Delta, state and local elected officials and civic organizations are what make Atlanta not only a global, dynamic city, but a great place to live and do business. Congratulations to Delta Air Lines, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson and all employees on the company’s 70th anniversary as Atlanta’s hometown airline.”
To help celebrate Delta created a special Coca-Cola livery on the “Spirit of Atlanta” which is a Boeing 777-200LR.
MORE WITH DELTA IN ATLANTA:
* Twitpic of the Boeing 777-200LR
* The “Spirit of Delta” 767 at the Delta Heritage Museum
* Inside look at the Delta TechOps in Atlanta
* Video time lapse of Delta planes taking off in Atlanta
* Flying a Delta Boeing 737-200 Simulator in Atlanta
Invited VIP Delta guests at the Seattle Art Museum. Yes, those are Ford Taurusi hanging from the ceiling.
After 9/11 airlines weren’t doing so hot. When the money was rolling in, airlines made a real effort to take care of their VIP customers. When flying demand goes down, airlines declare bankruptcy, mergers happen and the price of oil goes up, sometimes airlines can become distracted. Many airlines used to make an extra effort for their passengers, but had to cut back due to funding. Now, airlines are starting to make money again, and starting to concentrate more on the customer.
Delta Air Lines is one airline that isn’t doing too shabby right now. After the merger with Northwest Airlines they were the world’s largest airlines, until United and Continental stole that title away. But that didn’t stop Delta from making some decent money in extra fees. Through the end of the third quarter of this year, Delta has made $1.26billion (that is with a “B”) on bag and change fees. Just in the third quarter alone, Delta made $363million overall. Compare that to losing $161million last year. Now that Delta is making money and doesn’t have to concentrate on the merger anymore, they can put their focus back on the most important part of the equation: the customer.
So how does Seattle play into this? Last night Delta held an exclusive Picasso event at the Seattle Arts Museum (called SAM here) for VIP passengers, booking agents and other invited guests. Delta wants to show how important Seattle is to them and how they want to continue to grow loyal customers.
Before the Northwest merger, Delta didn’t have a huge presence. However, adding Northwest’s routes to Asia and having a vast domestic network in the US, provides many Seattle locals and folks flying through with more options. Seattle is a big international hub for Delta. After JFK and Atlanta, Seattle offers the third most international destinations [there is discussion going on right now. It might be fourth with Detroit third] than any other US city that Delta flies. The airline has a staff of 1500 employees based in Seattle and are in the process of remodeling their SkyClub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Delta hopes to have their new SkyClub open to the public sometime during the first quarter of 2011.
Although the speeches by Delta at last night’s event were short, they did make sure to mention their appreciation of Alaska Airlines more than once. While Delta is building a great international presence out of Seattle, they rely heavily on their relationship with Alaska and their domestic, west coast network.
This year, Delta added flights to Osaka and Beijing from Seattle. During the summer they plan to increase non-stop flights to Amsterdam from 10 weekly to 14. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more international flights coming out of Seattle in the future. One thing that Delta knows is an issue is their outdated aircraft interiors on most of their Seattle international flights. Some are flown with Delta’s Boeing 767-300ER’s and others with Northwest Airbus A330’s. Delta assures us that all the interiors will be updated by 2012.
This event will be one of many that Delta hopes to have around the country. They are sponsoring the Picasso exhibit that is currently in Seattle, which eventually will be making other visits around the US. I hope to see more events like this around the country from other airlines as well. I think making those VIP customers feel a bit more VIP is a good way to continue to see loyal customers continue to fly one particular airline.