✈ Delta’s blockbuster Boeing order, a new airline merger and Alaska Airlines’ push to go global ✈

January 14, 2026

Starting the new year off with a bang

by Ben Mutzabaugh, Managing Editor for Aviation

Hello TPG readers!

So much for a quiet start to the new year.

We have a new airline merger to talk about. Alaska Airlines let its global ambitions take center stage. And Delta Air Lines just inked a huge new wide-body order with Boeing.

Those are just a few of the headlines that have us talking as we head into 2026.

Let’s start with Delta, which ordered 30 of Boeing’s largest Dreamliner variant — the 787-10 — as it looks to refresh its long-haul fleet. The first of Delta’s new 787s are expected to arrive in 2031, and the carrier has already said they’ll have a premium-heavy configuration. In other words, expect lots of Delta One suites and Delta Premium Select premium economy seats.

Alaska Airlines, which has designs on becoming the United States’ fourth global carrier, kicked off the year with a new Boeing order of its own.

The company ordered a whopping 105 Boeing 737 MAX 10s to go alongside five Boeing 787s, the latter of which marked the first wide-body order ever made directly by Alaska. They’ll join the 787s that Alaska acquired via its merger with Hawaiian Airlines, giving it a growing roster of intercontinental jets to support its expanding global ambitions. And they’ll soon all be flying in Alaska’s sleek new northern lights-inspired livery that it will use on its Dreamliners.

Speaking of Hawaiian, there was news on that front, too. The airline expects to join its sister carrier, Alaska, as a full-fledged member of the Oneworld frequent flyer alliance by April. And Hawaiian’s wide-body fleet of Airbus A330s is due for its own overhaul.

I’ll close this week with the latest airline merger to hit the books. That comes courtesy of leisure giant Allegiant Air, which kicked off the week by saying it intends to acquire Minnesota-based rival Sun Country Airlines.

Allegiant has already mastered the niche of connecting small and midsized markets to leisure destinations with nonstop flights — often with a schedule of just a few flights per week. Acquiring Sun Country would allow Allegiant to integrate Sun Country’s international service while also expanding to more U.S. markets. Next up, the deal will be subject to regulatory review.

Stay tuned …

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Photo Credit: BEN MUTZABAUGH/THE POINTS GUY.

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