Originally Posted by sailingfun

Delta is like a elephant. They never forget so yes they hold long grudges. The A321 rumors are just that. The company has stated they want 30 to 40 more narrow body aircraft to augment the order for the 900's. That could be more 900's or A321's. One way or another you are going to hear about both aircraft as they are played against each other. No real new news here. What is new however is the discussion of some bridge widebody aircraft. The company originally said they were happy with the WB fleet and they would place a WB order for aircraft this year however it would be for mostly replacement aircraft after 2017. They are now hinting at a bridge order for 10 to 15 widebodies for near term delivery that would be growth aircraft. They are talking 777 or A330. I suspect whoever offers the best deal will get the contract for both orders. The A330 has had a recent gross weight increase which makes it a more attractive to Delta then in the past.
Going against Alaska in SEA I suspect is not going to happen. We don't have any gate space on LAX or SEA. If they add some more international in SEA then gates will be really tight. The same applies in LAX and contrary to what has been posted here Alaska is not using are gates in LA. They swapped the gates they had in LA to move over to terminal 6 to co locate with Delta but the additional gates gained in 6 belong to them. We can put some pressure on them with bigger aircraft but any route we go head to head on with them becomes a large money loser for both sides. Alaska has deep pockets and a long battle could happen. I think RA will reach a mutual agreement with them instead of going that route.