Delta Orders The Boeing 787

Delta has today announced a historic order for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, its first direct deal for the popular widebody aircraft.

The airline has ordered up to 60 aircraft in a move that’ll see the firm purchase 30 787-10 jets, the high-capacity model, followed by the option to exercise a further 30 should it wish to do so.

The landmark contract is enormous for the U.S. carrier, not just further cementing its place as a leading global carrier but also as a valuable customer of the 787. This aircraft once appeared to have no part in the airline’s future fleet.

Delta calls the decision to order the 787 logical; it’s currently building a fleet for the future and, with that, needs to enhance the customer experience by driving efficiency across the operation.

These Boeing 787s can seat up to 336 passengers and use 25% less fuel than the planes they’re replacing. The 787-10 is already positioned as offering the lowest operating cost per seat of any widebody.

Boeing says it’s pleased to bring Delta into the 787 family, especially with the 787-10 joining its excellent fleet, knowing this model will be a perfect fit for international expansion at the U.S. carrier moving forward.

The manufacturer says it’ll support Delta with its commitments to the Dreamliner and deliver these in due course, not just to renew the airline’s fleet but also find ways to replace some older jets with a model that offers higher capacity.

Why Delta’s 787 History Is Complicated

Delta’s history with the Boeing 787 is complex; it is not as clear-cut as today’s simple order for the aircraft, but rather a lengthy history involving the model that even included an order cancellation.

See, Delta held orders for the Boeing 787, but they were not placed directly by Delta and were driven by its merger with Northwest Airlines many years ago.

Under a thorough review of this airline’s business model, its future fleet backlog and more, it was compelling at the time of the review to take on the orders, although this hardly lasted all that long.

Northwest’s order for the aircraft came at a time when it believed it would need to proceed with fleet renewal efforts, and as such improve effiiencya nd thus retire older, less efficient aircraft. The 787 was viewed as an ideal stepping stone.

However, just months after the order was placed, the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and eventually, with Delta moving to acquire the business in April 2008, the largest airline in the world became a reality when the deal was approved later that day.

Delta Actually Cancelled 787 Orders

While Delta has now, in 2026, returned to the 787 program to elevate its widebody flying, the airline’s inherited Dreamliner order was formally cancelled in 2016.

This decision, reached right before the turn of the new year, didn’t come as a surprise and was expected; its fate had seemingly been wrapped up within the business for quite some time, and the only requirement was a formal confirmation.

Even before this order was formally cancelled for 18 of the Dreamliners, the airline had deferred delivery through to the mid-2020s, instead deciding to proceed with the Airbus A350 to help drive its international widebody growth, as the 787 did not feel like the optimal choice.

Now, Delta will not only fly the A350 but also the A350-1000, driven by a recent order for the type, which will be complemented by the formal addition of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the high-capacity 787-10 variant.

How Delta chooses to utilise its Boeing 787-10s hasn’t been finalised, with deliveries many years out. A clearer picture will be provided closer to the EIS for this aircraft.