Southwest Airlines’ Boeing 717s are going to be subleased to Delta with deliveries of about 3 per month starting in 2013.  Southwest thinks this is good for them as it gets their basic aircraft type back to one (the 737) and Delta thinks this is good as it is getting a cheap fleet type that can meet needs in the 100 seat category for longer “regional” flights.

Delta is a fan of the McDonnell Douglas aircraft and the 717 is just that.  They are typically robust, long lasting aircraft and the cost to purchase these is often so low, they make sense even when their fuel efficiency isn’t the best.

One aspect of this deal seems a bit odd.  I’m rather surprised that Southwest, Boeing and Delta didn’t work a deal to take them fully off Southwest’s books and transfer ownership either to Delta or create new leases for Delta.  Both airlines are big Boeing customers and I would think that Boeing would want to facilitate a win/win deal between the two airlines.

Filed under: Airline Fleets by ajax
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