Originally Posted by ehaase

I think the 787-8 and 787-9 are a better size plane for Delta than the 339 and 359, but I also think Airbus offered the 339 at a lower cost than Boeing offered the 787, and the 339's have competitive operating costs for the kind of routes Delta will put them on. The 339 is awfully big to replace 763's, but Delta got them relatively cheaply from what I have read. I think the 10 359's deferred to 2023 will end up replacing the 777ER's, which will be around 23 years old then.