After seeing its competitor Airbus announce a massive order for nearly 300 A320neo family aircraft by Chinese airlines, Boeing may soon reveal the expected deal with Delta Air Lines for the 737 MAX.
According to sources at Air Current, the U.S. carrier is working out the final details of an order for 130 737 MAX 10 jets, 100 of them firm and 30 options, to be delivered starting in 2025.
If confirmed, it will be the biggest order for the highest-capacity variant of the 737 MAX, with up to 230 seats. Also according to the outlet, the announcement could take place during the Farnborough Air Show, which begins on July 18.
The deal has quite a symbolic value as Delta has not received a Boeing aircraft in three years. Since then, the Atlanta-based airline has placed several orders with Airbus, and today sees its fleet dominated by European jets, including the A330neo, A350-900, the A220 and the A320neo family.
The order expected by Boeing would not have been competition with Airbus, but a kind of nod to the US aerospace industry to avoid an uncomfortable situation for Delta, the only major carrier in the country not to have the 737 MAX.
The single-aisle aircraft, after a long period of inactivity due to fatal accidents, currently flies with American Airlines, United, Southwest and Alaska, among other US airlines.
