In its latest detailed annual report, Delta Air Lines has indicated its contractual commitments by aircraft type for 2026, slightly adjusting the delivery schedule that it had outlined when it reported its 2024 results.
Shifting 737 MAX 10 and A350-1000 deliveries
Delta Air Lines’ latest annual report detailed that it will not introduce two aircraft types that it previously expected to in 2026: the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 737 MAX 10. Both aircraft, which, according to the carrier’s contractual commitments, were supposed to be delivered in 2026, will now arrive in 2027.
In its 2024 report, the company said Airbus was contractually committed to deliver 4 A350-1000 in 2026 and another 4 in 2027, with the remaining 12 scheduled for delivery after 2027.
Now, the airline plans to welcome its first eight A350-1000s in 2027, and 12 in 2028, completing its order for the larger A350.
In terms of the 737 MAX 10, as of December 31, 2025, Delta Air Lines expects to receive its first 27 aircraft in 2027, instead of 20 deliveries in each of 2026 and 2027 that it planned as of December 31, 2024.
(The table above does not include planned deliveries in 2028 and beyond.)
The only two aircraft it received as scheduled in 2025 were the seven A330-900 and five A350-900s, with Delta Air Lines planning to take delivery of another four A350-900s in 2026. That timeline remains unchanged.
“The timing of these commitments is based on our contractual agreements with the aircraft manufacturers and remains uncertain due to supply chain, manufacturing, and regulatory constraints.”
New orders’ delivery plans
Dan Janki, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Delta Air Lines, confirmed during the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call that it expects 50 deliveries in 2026, driving up capital expenditures (CapEx) to $5.5 billion.
In 2025, CapEx was $4.5 billion.
Ed Bastian, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines, added that throughout the past decade, the airline’s CapEx has always been around $5 billion, “some years a little lower, some years a little higher range.”
On the same day the airline unveiled its financial results, it also announced an order for 30 787-10 aircraft, with another 30 options. The 787-10s, replacing its aging 767-400ERs, will begin arriving in 2031, offering larger premium cabins and double-digit fuel efficiency gains over the 767-400ERs.
On January 27, the carrier added 16 A330-900 and 15 A350-900s to its order book, with deliveries starting in 2029. The purchase combined a new, incremental order, the exercise of 10 options, and added 20 additional future widebody options.
As a result of the new Airbus order, Delta Air Lines plans to fly 55 A330-900, 59 A350-900, and 20 A350-1000 aircraft.
Rytis Beresnevicius
