July 19, 2022: -Delta Air Lines is purchasing 100 Boeing 737 Max 10 planes, its preferably important order for current aircraft from the U.S. manufacturer in more than a decade.

The deal has options for 30 better planes. Deliveries are slated to start in 2025.

The new order is good news for Boeing as Airbus just won high-profile sales, which include several of China’s state-owned airlines. Boeing complained about trade tensions when that order was announced.

Delta said Monday that the order would modernize its narrow-body fleet as the carrier aims to capitalize on a rebound in travel following the record slump caused by the Covid pandemic. It says that the Max planes would be 20%-30% more fuel-efficient than the jetliners they will replace.

Atlanta-based Delta is the best among the top four U.S. carriers that haven’t ordered new Boeing jets in recent years, favoring Airbus as it beefed up its narrow and longer-range wide-body fleet. Delta retired older Boeing 777s during the pandemic and has brought more Airbus A350 twin-aisle plane deliveries.

The 737 Max was settled for at least 18 months after the second of two fatal collisions in 2018 and 2019, together destroying 346 people. The U.S. lifted the grounding in November 2020. Delta’s candidates over that period encountered capacity constraints because deliveries of renewed Maxes were paused.

The Max 10 model is the biggest of the narrow-body Max family and doesn’t yet have government approval. The regulation passed in the wake of the two hits will need the recent aircraft outfitted with a cockpit alert system. Boeing wishes to win support for the planes before the end of the year.

Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, had mentioned an order for Max planes earlier. When asked at a recent investor conference regarding the potential demand for the narrow-body planes, Bastian said, “We’ve been trying to get a deal done with Boeing on that; hopefully, we’ll be able to figure that out.”

Delta will configure the plane with 182 seats that consist of 129 in standard economy, 33 in Comfort+ with extra legroom, and 20 in first class.

Boeing shares stood up 4% in premarket trading, while Delta shares rose more than 2%. Most of Delta’s orders in recent years came from Europe’s Airbus.