Delta dangles future order for 200 jets, considering Alitalia investment

Delta fueled the appetite of planemakers on Tuesday after CE Ed Bastian said the airline planned to replace some 200 Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft over the next decade. The plans come as the airline seeks to grow internationally, though Bastian said at a conference that the company had not yet decided whether to invest in struggling Italian carrier Alitalia. Delta's potential fleet order, which analysts say would be worth over $10b, could boost proposals by Boeing to launch a new plane in that segment while Airbus is preparing to counter with a new version of A321 and the larger A330neo. Delta is "very interested" and in discussions with Boeing about its proposed new midsized airplane, known as the NMA, Bastian said. Boeing will decide in 2020 whether to produce the plane which industry sources say would have two aisles and seat seven across. The plane aims to address the so-called middle of the jet market between traditional narrowbody jets with one aisle and long-distance widebody planes. "Hopefully they'll decide to go," Bastian said. Delta is already in the process of replacing one-third of its mainline fleet, one of the largest and oldest among US airlines, in the next five years. Bastian said it was too early to decide whether to invest in Alitalia.<br/>