Delta Places Order For 100 Boeing 737 Jets

Delta is purchasing 100 737 Max 10 jets, the largest of the line built by Boeing, potentially providing the manufacturer fresh momentum following a difficult rollout of its most modern aircraft, Michelle Chapman reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Delta has a fleet of more than 850 mainline aircraft, including more than 450 Boeing 717s, 737s, 757s, and 767s.

Delta has an option to purchase 30 more of the aircraft as the carrier attempts to keep up with growing travel demand. Boeing has struggled to stay up with its European rival Airbus after a pair of 737 Max planes crashed in a short space of time, killing 346 passengers and crew members.

Delta has a fleet of more than 850 mainline aircraft, including more than 450 Boeing 717s, 737s, 757s and 767s, David Koenig also noted for AP.

Shares of Boeing Co. jumped 3 percent while Delta Air Lines Inc., based in Atlanta, gained 5 percent in early trading.

Airlines are aggressively striving to minimize expenses and the 737 Max can help them do so. Delta Air Lines said Monday that the airplanes, which can seat up to 230 people, will lower fuel consumption and emissions by 20 percent to 30 percent compared with the planes it will replace.

However, the Max 10 has not been certified by federal regulators. Boeing is scrambling to secure that approval by a year-end deadline, when new regulations adopted following two crashes of Max jets would mandate that the planes include a cockpit-alert system that informs pilots about some defects on the plane.

Boeing is also asking Congress for an exception to the norm, according to published sources. Financial terms of the order were not disclosed. The plane bears a list price of $134.9 million, according to Boeing’s website, although carriers often negotiate huge discounts.

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