DALLAS (Bloomberg) — Delta Air Lines Inc., the largest US carrier in bankruptcy, reached an agreement with Boeing Co. to buy ten additional aircraft and to sell 38 others once they’re delivered.The added purchases would be 737-700 jetliners, the Atlanta-based airline said today. The other planes are larger Boeing 737-800s, of which 15 will be sold to Aviation Capital Group and the rest to Babcock & Brown Aviation Finance Ltd., Delta said. The accord requires bankruptcy court approval.

Yesterday’s agreement marks Delta’s latest effort to exit Chapter 11 as a stand-alone carrier and fend off US Airways Group Inc.’s $8.73 billion hostile takeover offer. Delta has announced a pilot recall, added 14 new overseas routes and settled with a creditor since US Airways made its bid November 15.

“Delta is trying to de-emphasise their domestic operation, but it’s not clear that’s going to be enough for them to remain independent,” Helane Becker, a New York-based Benchmark Co. analyst, said in an interview. “It comes down to who can get the money into the hands of Delta’s creditors first, and US Airways seems to be the one to do it.”

The new 737-700s will fly longer US routes “while at the same time supporting our international expansion plans to Latin America and the Caribbean”, Mel Fauscett, managing director of fleet planning and acquisition, said in a statement.

Delta, the third-biggest US airline, also said it will switch three more orders for 777 aircraft to Boeing’s long-range version of that plane.

Yesterday’s agreement calls for Chicago-based Boeing to get $12 million in claims for goods and services provided to Delta before the bankruptcy, plus $208,000 in administrative expenses and an $18 million claim for damages related to leases for Delta’s Comair commuter unit.

“We look forward to final bankruptcy court approval of the transaction mentioned in the Delta Air Lines announcement,” Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said. “Until that occurs, Boeing cannot comment on any aspect of negotiations with Delta.”

Boeing leads the committee representing Delta’s unsecured creditors. Boeing was owed $3.72 billion by Delta, according to the airline’s September 14, 2005, bankruptcy filing, making it the carrier’s largest creditor.

“Not everybody on the creditors’ committee has the same perspective as Boeing, where Delta is also a customer,” said Henry Harteveldt, a San Francisco-based analyst for Forrester Research. “It’s in Boeing’s best interest to be flexible with them and help them remain an independent carrier.”

US Airways also has bought planes from larger Boeing rival Airbus SAS, and the Tempe, Arizona-based carrier’s plans to cut capacity after a Delta merger would shrink the pool of plane buyers, Harteveldt said.

The companies buying the 737-800s both specialize in aircraft leasing. Aviation Capital Group is based in Newport Beach, California; the other purchaser is a unit of the Sydney- based investment bank Babcock & Brown Ltd.