Boeing could face snub as Delta near deal with rival: report

One day after the Canadian government cancelled a deal to purchase fighter jets from the Boeing Co. over its ongoing trade dispute with Bombardier Inc., the U.S. aerospace giant was reportedly close to missing out on another multi-billiondollar order.

According to a CNN report citing two people familiar with the deal, Delta Air Lines is close to approving a major order from Boeing’s main rival.

The sources told CNN that the Atlanta-based airline’s board of directors was set to vote Wednesday on whether to place an order for 100 A321neo jets from aerospace giant Airbus SE. Based on list prices, the order could be worth US$12.7 billion.

A separate Delta order for 75 Bombardier CSeries jets is at the centre of the ongoing trade dispute that has pitted Boeing against Bombardier and Delta, as well as the Canadian, Quebec and U.K. governments.

Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant declined to comment about the potential deal. When asked about how the ongoing trade dispute has affected Delta’s relationship with Boeing, Durrant pointed to previous comments made by Delta’s chief executive Ed Bastian.

“The CSeries debate or the decision from Commerce is not just disappointing, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Bastian said during a quarterly results conference call in October. “We think it’s early in the discussion and we also know that it’s triggering a lot of discussions at political levels, not just within the aerospace field.”

According to previous reports, Delta had been looking to purchase about 100 singleaisle jets and was debating between Boeing ’s 737 Max 10 and Airbus’ A321neo.

Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst and vice-president of Teal Group, said Boeing faced major political headwinds when it came to the Delta order because of its ongoing trade dispute with Bombardier.

“There were so many second and third order effects of this ill-advised trade complaint ...,” he said.

The potential order comes a day after the Canadian government confirmed it ditched its plans to buy 18 Super Hornets from Boeing and will instead purchase 18 second-hand F-18s from Australia.