Delta plans extensive retirements of older aircraft

The American airline Delta Air Lines recently presented extensive plans to retire old aircraft. As we already reported in February in WingMag, the airline has exciting goals for the future. Delta wants to operate completely climate-neutral in ten years and thus lead the way ahead of all other airlines. This could also be a reason for the restructuring measures that have become known.

The figure sounds impressive even at first glance. By 2025, a total of 237 aircraft are to leave Delta’s fleet. But which aircraft are affected? In total, there are three different models that will no longer fly for Delta in five years at the latest. All Boeing 717s, the Boeing 767-300ERs and the Bombardier CRJ200s, the latter of which will make their final flights as early as the end of 2023. The airline is taking this enormous step as part of its fleet simplification strategy. Delta has concluded that the models concerned will simply no longer be economically viable in the future. 

This means that the airline is faced with a large-scale fleet restructuring. After all, it is hardly to be expected that Delta will reduce its fleet by 237 aircraft. There are also already orders for various Airbus models. However, if one takes a look at the figures, it becomes clear that, as things stand today, this would not be a 1:1 replacement.

Picture © Nick Morales

by Johanna Koyser