[ad_1]
During the past month of March 2020 the airline Delta Air Lines unveiled its plans to decommission its aircraft McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and MD-90, aircraft that began operating for more than 27 years. Delta’s original plan was for the MD-88s to be retired later this year while the MD-90s until the end of 2022.
The global crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic has caused airlines to move forward with withdrawals of their older aircraft, this is a trend that we have seen in several operators. It is for this reason that Delta Air Lines decided to advance the retirement of its MD-88 and MD-90, both types of aircraft will be withdrawn from service next June.
Early retirement is the best option for airlines to reduce their operating costs. An example is KLM withdrawing its Boeing 747-400s, Lufthansa its Airbus A380s or the withdrawal of Boeing 757 and 767 from American Airlines. Delta Air Lines currently has a fleet of 885 aircraft, of which twenty-two aircraft are McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and twenty-one are MD-90, according to information subtracted from airfleets.
When the announcement was made of the withdrawal of the planes in March of this year, the Chief Financial Officer of Delta Airlines mentioned to the media ThePointsGuy, that if the situation of COVID-19 worsened, severe measures would have to be taken regarding the withdrawal of aircraft by the airline; He also mentioned that Delta was exploring the possibility of withdrawing its oldest 777s.
On April 22, the airline announced the financial results for the first quarter of the year 2020, registering net losses of $ 534 million dollars. Ed Bastian CEO of Delta Air Lines, mentioned that these times are unprecedented for both the airline and the entire industry, making it clear that the market recovery is expected to be slow.
[ad_2]
