Delta Airlines 2003 Annual Report Download - page 30

Table of Contents
Delivery in Calendar Year Ending
After Rolling
Aircraft on Option(1) 2004 2005 2006 2007 2007 Total Options
B-737-600/700/800 — 7 10 22 21 60 226
B-757-200 (2) — 3 6 6 5 20 37
B-767-300/300ER — 1 2 2 5 10 8
B-767-400 — 1 2 2 19 24 —
B-777-200 — 2 1 3 14 20 9
CRJ-100/200 — 29 42 31 69 171 —
CRJ-700 (3) — 22 30 30 70 152 —
Total — 65 93 96 203 457 280
(1) Aircraft options have scheduled delivery slots, while rolling options replace options and are assigned delivery slots as options expire or are exercised.
(2) On October 16, 2003, Boeing announced that it will discontinue production of 757 model aircraft at the end of 2004. We are discussing with Boeing the
implications of this announcement on our options and rolling options for 757 aircraft after 2004.
(3) While our agreement with the manufacturer enables us to exercise the options indicated in this table, our collective bargaining agreement with ALPA limits
the number of jet aircraft certificated for operation with between 51 and 70 seats that may be operated by other U.S. Carriers (including ASA and Comair)
using the Delta flight code. This limit is currently 58 aircraft but potentially could increase in the future depending on certain factors related to the extent of
flying performed by Delta pilots. Based on our current fleet and block hour plans, we will reach the current limit by the end of 2004 and we are unable to
predict when or if that limit will increase.
Our long-term agreement with The Boeing Company ("Boeing") covers firm orders, options and rolling options for certain aircraft through calendar year
2017. This agreement supports our plan for disciplined growth, aircraft rationalization and fleet replacement. It also gives us certain flexibility to adjust
scheduled aircraft deliveries and to substitute between aircraft models and aircraft types. The majority of the aircraft under firm order from Boeing will be
used to replace older aircraft.
In October 2003, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell 11 B-737-800 aircraft to a third party immediately after those aircraft are delivered to us by
the manufacturer in 2005. As of December 31, 2003, we had deferred delivery of one B-737-800 aircraft, and plan to exercise our right to defer delivery of an
additional seven B-737-800 aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2005, until 2008. In February 2004, we announced our intention to seek to sell two B-777-200
aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2005. In conjunction with this announcement, we also disclosed our intention to either acquire other Boeing aircraft in place
of the three B-777-200 aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2006 or to attempt to sell these three aircraft. We have no scheduled mainline aircraft deliveries in
2004.
Our long-term plan is to reduce our mainline aircraft fleet to three family types. We believe fleet standardization will improve reliability and produce long-
term cost savings. Consistent with this plan, we retired our last B-727 aircraft in April 2003. Due to weak traffic, we temporarily grounded the entire MD-11
fleet by the end of January 2004. As a result of these actions, beginning in 2004, we will operate a mainline fleet composed entirely of two-pilot, two-engine
aircraft.
Our fleet at December 31, 2003 includes the following 23 aircraft which have been temporarily grounded: 13 MD-11, five B-767-200, four B-737-200 and
one B-767-300ER (included in our fleet table). Other fleet activity included the conversion of 36 B-757-200 aircraft from mainline to Song configuration, and
the sublease of two MD-11 aircraft to World Airways (these two aircraft are excluded from our fleet table).
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