Originally Posted by
readywhenyouare
You also have to consider the cost of a new fleet type though. It would seem much more economical to gradually move to an all Airbus fleet. Airbus makes up the bulk of Delta's fleet as it is and it would just make sense to keep expanding it. That reduces training costs, parts, maintenance, etc. It also increases productivity if you just reduce the pilot groups to A220, A320, A330, A350.
I thought the MAX was marketed and sold as needing basically no increased training costs for airlines with 737NGs already in the fleet.....
As for your other point, DL has nearly 500 Boeing aircraft in its fleet (currently more Boeing aircraft than Airbus, though with current retirement/phase-outs and deliveries planned the Airbus numbers as they stand currently will eventually pass the Boeing numbers). DL is not an LCC where fleet commonality is much more critical to reducing costs. DL can absorb the costs associated with having a mixed fleet and make that up in other ways by optimizing the various fleet types across its network, particularly across the narrowbody fleet where an airline like DL has hundreds of a given type. DL is still the largest 757 and 767-300 operator. They have 77 737-800s and 159 737-900s, in which the oldest 737-900s aren't even 10 years old. Even during COVID which saw drastic fleet reductions and changes (such as the 777s being dumped and the MD-88s and MD-90 retirements being moved way up), DL did not switch to an all Airbus fleet or even begin to hint in that direction, for which COVID would have probably afforded quite an opportunity. Additionally, there are benefits to having a mixed fleet type rather than all Boeing or all Airbus. If an Airworthiness Directive comes out that grounds an entire fleet type, having a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing provides a buffer against how much of your fleet is grounded/impacted by the AD. If the FAA came out with an AD that grounded all 737 NG aircraft or all Airbus A32X series aircraft, for instance, while DL, AA, and UA would certainly feel the impact, they are not in the same position as WN or AS (737 NG) or JetBlue (A32X) who would be pretty much screwed.