Delta to retire Boeing 777 fleet to cut costs amid coronavirus
Delta said it would remove Boeing 777 aircraft from its fleet by the end of the year, a sign the airline believes international travel will recover slowly from the coronavirus pandemic. Retiring the fleet will help “stop the bleeding” as the airline looks to conserve cash, CE Ed Bastian wrote in a letter to employees on Thursday. Delta is burning $50m a day, Bastian said, a rate the airline wants to reduce to zero by the end of the year. US air travel has dropped over 90% from a year ago. Airline executives have said they believe domestic travel will be first to resume, as people may feel ready to visit friends and relatives or take relatively short flights before they will venture abroad. In addition to the 777, one of its largest planes, Delta is also accelerating its retirement plan for the smaller McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and MD-90s, which will exit the fleet in June, and has parked more than 650 jets, Bastian wrote. That means Delta has more pilots than it needs. John Laughter, senior vice president of flight operations, told employees in a separate memo that the airline will likely be overstaffed by 7,000 pilots this fall.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-05-15/sky/delta-to-retire-boeing-777-fleet-to-cut-costs-amid-coronavirus
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Delta to retire Boeing 777 fleet to cut costs amid coronavirus
Delta said it would remove Boeing 777 aircraft from its fleet by the end of the year, a sign the airline believes international travel will recover slowly from the coronavirus pandemic. Retiring the fleet will help “stop the bleeding” as the airline looks to conserve cash, CE Ed Bastian wrote in a letter to employees on Thursday. Delta is burning $50m a day, Bastian said, a rate the airline wants to reduce to zero by the end of the year. US air travel has dropped over 90% from a year ago. Airline executives have said they believe domestic travel will be first to resume, as people may feel ready to visit friends and relatives or take relatively short flights before they will venture abroad. In addition to the 777, one of its largest planes, Delta is also accelerating its retirement plan for the smaller McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and MD-90s, which will exit the fleet in June, and has parked more than 650 jets, Bastian wrote. That means Delta has more pilots than it needs. John Laughter, senior vice president of flight operations, told employees in a separate memo that the airline will likely be overstaffed by 7,000 pilots this fall.<br/>
