Delta have said all along there will be no announcement until their next shareholder/board meeting which I thought was the end of April. Close enough to May. Bombardier, apparently, are saying nothing other than they are close to a deal.
My guess is, the suggested 125 aircraft order will be shared between both BBD and Embraer.
I suspect BBD are well aware they need to discount the aircraft more than previous management to secure any order from not only DL, but any other customer they might have lined up. BBD aren't new to the sales game so credit where credit is due. But, there must be a limit to any discount BBD is prepared to give and I have no doubt it will be Delta's call whether or not that discount is acceptable. I also suspect a discount similar to the one Air Canada received must be close enough to what Delta has been offered and would likely accept.
Delta are interested in the CS300 which is not a regional jet. It's also a great B717 replacement. It's also a better aircraft for Delta pilots to transition to the B787 from. I seriously doubt those naive Canadian salesmen are thinking regional jet prices when dealing with DL's fleet planners.
If a deal gets made I'm pretty sure its going to be at a price both parties can live with.
Willie
