Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Sailingfun had a good post on this airplane order. He basically stated the 737-900ER fills in for some 757's as they retire.
Delta wants a 140 seat airplane, which is larger than the E190 and the C Series.
Now my opinion:
Delta apparently wants to replace the MD88 with an airplane of similar capacity. That leaves an enormous capacity gap between 76 and 142/160 seats. IMHO the company is waiting out a worse downturn which might give them the opportunity to close the 100 seat order during concessionary negotiations. The Company is biding their time until attrition picks up and the scope loss would not be felt by those currently on our list.
Why would we negotiate a concessionary contract when Delta is profitable? Ain't happening. Not buying it. If Delta is making money now, they're in a position to make LOADS when the economy comes back to full swing. To think otherwise is foolish. Management will have ZERO to base the need for a concessionary contract on, because not only are we making money but also paying off debt at an impressive rate while giving money to Aeromexico and BUYING 100 737-900ERs.
Your point may have gone right over my head, but I truly believe that our current NC will not even present a TA that has any scope relief. PERIOD.