Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines set to almost double its Airbus A350 fleet with latest Airbus order

Delta Air Lines' latest order includes the purchase of 16 A330-900 and 15 A350-900 aircraft, as well as 20 options.

Photo: Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines and Airbus have announced that the airline has ordered an additional 31 Airbus widebodies, split between 16 A330-900 and 15 A350-900s, with the deal including Delta Air Lines exercising options for 10 aircraft and adding 20 options for future widebody deliveries.

On January 27, 2026, Delta Air Lines confirmed that it finalized an agreement with Airbus to take delivery of an additional 16 A330-900 and 15 A350-900 aircraft starting in 2029. The order combines new deliveries, the exercise of its existing options, and the addition of 20 more options for the European planemaker’s widebody aircraft.

With the latest order, its A350 fleet is set to almost double compared to its current fleet of 40 aircraft of the type. In addition to the 15 additional A350-900s, Delta Air Lines is also anticipating the delivery of 20 A350-1000 aircraft from 2027.

It also has 39 A330-900s today, according to planespotters.net.

Fleet to reflect continued premium focus

Importantly, Delta Air Lines highlighted that all of its new widebodies that will be delivered “in the coming years” will feature larger premium cabins, “including Delta One Suites, Delta Premium Select, and Delta Comfort [seats] in addition to Delta Main.”

Planespotters.net indicated that, for example, the airline’s most recent A350-900 aircraft had more premium-heavy cabins compared to earlier deliveries. In 2025, Delta Air Lines took delivery of five A350-900s, all of which had 40 business class, 40 premium economy, and 195 economy class seats, compared to earlier A350-900s that still have 32 business, 48 premium economy, and 226 economy class seats.

(The former configuration also offers more range compared to the latter, per Delta Air Lines.)

“The order is within Delta’s previously announced capital expenditure and capacity targets. With the commitments announced today, Delta has 232 narrowbody and 85 widebody aircraft on order for delivery in the coming years.”

The carrier’s continuous premium focus has been evident in its revenue split. In Q4 2025, it earned more revenue from its premium cabins than from its economy class cabins: $5.69 billion from its premium revenue versus $5.62 billion from its Main Cabin.

Boeing widebody orders

In addition to discussing revenue trends, Delta Air Lines’ executives also detailed its plans with its Boeing 787-10 order, which it announced together with its quarterly results. Starting in 2031, the airline will take delivery of 30 787-10s, with options for 30 more.

Joe Esposito, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Delta Air Lines, said that the carrier will be able to “do a lot” with the 787-10’s premium seating, with the aircraft also being great for cargo and the diversification of engines within its fleet.

Unlike the A330-900 and A350s, which are and will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent family engines, the 787-10s will be equipped with two GE Aeropsace GEnx powerplants.

“So, it is a natural fit, especially when it starts to replace the 767-400ERs, which it is slated to do. It is designed for growth and replacement. And [when] we think about swapping a 767-400ER or 767-300ER to a 787-10, it is a very powerful change and a step function improvement in margin.”

Hauenstein added that going forward, Delta Air Lines will have widebody fleet with aircraft that will include “one [that] has long range, one has a lot of capabilities, one is a category killer on CASM [cost per available seat mile – ed. note] and one is kind of our milk run airplane that is going to do most of the spoke services out of our core hub.”