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2020 was a great year for aircraft recalls. Driven primarily by the need to cut costs, seek efficiencies, and reduce travel demand, airlines moved to recall hundreds of aircraft. Recalls in the US range from narrow-body to wide-body and consist of certain types of older aircraft and entire fleets. Here’s a look at the planes that major US airlines have recalled.
For the purposes of this article, Simple Flying will focus on mainline aircraft. However, regional carriers have recalled some aircraft, especially the 50-seat jets that US carriers have described as not needing in their capacity purchase agreements.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines felt the crisis once locations in the United States began closing for travel. The airline, sensing an opportunity, reacted by promoting its move back to an entirely Boeing fleet.
Almost immediately, Alaska Airlines decided to recall the ten Airbus A319s. These aircraft were small, inefficient, and some of the least loved aircraft in the airline’s fleet from an operations standpoint. This was followed by additional recalls of Airbus A320 aircraft. In all, 30 Airbus A320s left the Seattle-based airline’s fleet in 2020.
After merging with Virgin America, Alaska Airlines acquired its fleet from Airbus, but had the need to go back to its full Boeing roots. Therefore, just before Christmas, the airline announced an increase in its Boeing 737 MAX order book, which will allow the retirement of all Airbus A320s in three years, moving Alaska to a core fleet entirely of Boeing.
Loyal air
The ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) took a cautious approach to its aircraft recalls, deciding to only take out a handful of Airbus A320 jets. These mainly included older jets that either had expensive maintenance checks or were otherwise deemed not worth the cost of maintaining. The airline’s fleet is still entirely Airbus and in more than 100 aircraft.
american airlines
The 2020 American Airlines fleet looks markedly different from the 2019 American Airlines fleet. From the core fleet, American Airlines made some major recalls, including:
- 15 Airbus A330-200s
- Nine Airbus A330-300s
- 34 Boeing 757-200s
- 17 Boeing 767-300ER
- 20 Embraer E190s
While Boeing jets were older, Airbus and Embraer jets only added inefficiency to the fleet. American Airlines has not previously indicated its desire to stick with 100-seat jets, preferring to fly the Airbus A319 and take on more of those smaller jets.
Airbus A330s were a bit strange in the American fleet. They made up a small part of the fleet, and American has many Boeing 787s on order that can perform the same missions that Airbus A330s were scheduled for. Given the drop in demand at the moment, which has prompted American to cut back on some long-haul destinations.
The fleet is now much more optimized, with greater product standardization, which is a goal the airline had even before the crisis broke out. It has continued to adapt its Boeing 737s and Airbus A321s to a denser configuration.
Delta airlines
Delta will reach more than 200 aircraft recalls in 2020, which is a huge but not surprising number. This includes mainline and regional aircraft, including CRJ-200s. The list of mainline retirements includes the following this year:
- 10 Boeing 737-700
- Eight Boeing 777-200ER
- 10 Boeing 777-200LR
- 26 McDonnell Douglas MD-90
- 15 Boeing 767-300ER
- 10 Airbus A320
- 47 McDonnell Douglas MD-88
- 26 Boeing 717-200
The rest of the Boeing 717 and 767-300ERs will leave the airline’s fleet in December 2025. The CRJ-200s will leave in December 2023.
Delta has been one of the most aggressive airlines when it comes to aircraft recalls in 2020. The airline immediately accelerated the downsizing of its aging MD fleet and then singled out other older aircraft including some Boeing 767s and Airbus A320s for retirement .
After isolating those planes, he went on to examine their inefficient fleets, including the 777s and the Boeing 737-700s.
Southwest Airlines
One of the largest airlines in the United States, Southwest Airlines, operates an entirely Boeing 737 fleet. Comprised primarily of Boeing 737-700s, the airline looks to the future in 2021 for MAX operations.
Southwest Airlines had always had plans to replace most of its old Boeing 737-700s. These planes, which can fly more than six or more segments per day, require more frequent maintenance as they work harder than other airlines.
The airline has only pulled a handful of Boeing 737-700s from its fleet, but it still has flexibility. With the 737 MAX coming into operation from 2021, the airline is excited about modernizing its fleet, reducing costs and offering a better passenger experience, which in turn should help drive loyalty. , which will mean more revenue for the airline.
2021 will see more retirements; however, the number of aircraft in the airline’s fleet will not materially change because Southwest plans to recall a 737-700 for every 737 MAX jet it takes. This will allow you to increase your total seating capacity without increasing the number of aircraft in your fleet.
Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines is in an interesting position with its fleet. The airline had previously parked all its Airbus A319s, awaiting a decision on what it should do with the plane. While a small number of these aircraft have been put back into commercial service, most remain parked.
The airline maintained that these planes had “flexible capacity.” If necessary, they could return. And it seems some are needed, according to the airline. However, simultaneously, the carrier has the ability to depart and recall these aircraft if it determines that these aircraft are not financially worth keeping. They are the oldest aircraft in the ULCC fleet.
What about United Airlines?
While some smaller airlines, like Hawaiian and JetBlue, have resisted widespread retirements, most airlines have gone ahead and retired entire fleets and made it clear which planes they are getting rid of. United has not been the same.
While the airline has recalled a handful of older jets, including some Airbus A320s and Boeing 757s, according to data from Planespotters.net, it is not ending the year with significantly fewer jets than it started. Essentially, United remains stagnant.
There are pros and cons to this approach. First, United has been one of the most aggressive airlines in terms of manageability in the United States and abroad. As other airlines cut their schedules overseas, United has announced new long-haul domestic and international routes. Some of these are the most anticipated new routes for US airlines in 2021.
To do this, the carrier maintains a robust fleet. While he has the flexibility to recall some aircraft in the future, he has not considered that mass sorties are necessary for the carrier to survive. So far, the airline has done an excellent job managing costs and approaching lower average daily cash consumption.
Which of these planes makes you the most saddened when airlines are pulling out? Let us know in the comments!
