[180417.EN.AIR] Airbus Hits Snag as Delta Re-thinks Commitments to Buy 25 A350s

THE Airbus expansion into Boeing's US market faces a snag as Delta Air Lines reviews its US$14 billion purchase of 25 Airbus A350s to replace its old Boeing 747s, reports Bloomberg.

Delta has already scrapped orders for 18 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, saying at the time last December that the decision was in line with the need "to prudently address our wide-body aircraft needs".

Now Delta is re-thinking its Airbus twin-aisle orders amid signs that the long-range travel market is saturated, said Delta CEO Ed Bastian during a quarterly earnings call.

"We continue to see excess capacity in wide-bodies as we look to the future for the industry as a whole," said Mr Bastian.

"We continue to look internally as to what that means for Delta," he said. "You could anticipate reductions over the next several years," he said.

American Airlines last year deferred its order for Airbus A350 jets, while United said it may swap its purchase for smaller aircraft.

Sales of twin-aisle aircraft have fallen as the market absorbs a surplus generated by two plane making giants, said Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia.

Source : HKSG.