Delta Awards Airbus 50-Jet Order to Renew Fleet in Snub to Boeing

Delta Air Lines has reportedly chosen Airbus for an order of 50 wide-body jets worth more than $14 billion at current list prices. Delta plans to buy 25 Airbus A350-900 jets and 25 Airbus A330-900neo jets, according to multiple reports, in a snub to Boeing. Delta announced in April plans to buy wide-body, long-haul jets that would replace its older Boeing models. One contributing factor to the decision is said to be the early availability of Airbus' new updated A330 model, as Delta reportedly wants the A350s starting in 2017 and the A330neos two years later, a timeline Boeing was unable to meet. Boeing has since won an order for ten wide-body 777-300ER jets from Kuwait Airways valued at $3.3 billion at current list prices.