Originally Posted by shiznit

Its official. Finally.

On Deltanet:

DELTA EXPANDS MD-90 FLEET
Delta has reached an agreement with Japan Airlines to purchase nine MD-90 aircraft as it continues to expand its fleet of the cost-efficient narrowbody jets.

JAL will begin delivery of the MD-90s in January of next year, and they will be refurbished and upgraded to match Delta’s domestic fleet. The purchase will not add capacity; rather, the aircraft will be used to replace retiring DC-9s and 50-seat regional jets leaving the fleet.

Delta now has 58 MD-90s under contract, with 19 flying, 15 in modification, and 24 to be delivered. With a range of 2,400 miles, the 160-seat aircraft can be used for a variety of domestic flying.

“The MD-90 is a cost-effective aircraft that helps us more efficiently maintain our flying levels as we retire regional jets and DC-9s,” said Nat Pieper, v.p.-Fleet Strategy and Transactions. “We’ll continue to look for opportunities to acquire used MD-90s in the future.”

Since 2007, Delta has retired more than 250 smaller gauge domestic aircraft including 50-seat regional jets, Saab 340 turboprops, and all of its DC-9 30s and 40s. A portion of that capacity has been backfilled with the addition of 100 newer model MD-90s and two-class regional jets.