Delta to buy up to 60 new mini-jets
By RUSSELL GRANTHAM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/04/07
Delta Air Lines plans to buy 30 new regional jets from Bombardier Inc. and has asked for purchase options on 30 more of the 76-seat planes, according to a court filing Thursday.
The Atlanta airline is also seeking its bankruptcy judge's clearance to get secured financing for the deal and to pay pre-delivery costs.
The court filing, part of Delta's nearly 16-month-old bankruptcy restructuring, did not disclose financial terms for the deal.
The orders are for Bombardiar's CRJ 900s, a larger version of the 50- and 70-seat jets that make up the bulk of Delta's regional jet fleet. Delta has long been expected to order bigger regional jets to feed its hub airports, in part because the smaller aircraft are less popular with customers when used on longer flights.
In a contract deal last April, Delta's pilots union agreed to work rule changes that allowed the carrier to begin adding up to 30 of the 76-seat jets to its fleet this year.
Regional jets are operated as "Delta Connection" flights by Delta subsidiary Comair or by its other regional affiliates, while Delta uses larger jets for its own mainline operations.
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