- Delta Air Lines said Thursday that it will retire its fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft and remove them from service by the end of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on travel demand.
- By Patrick Daly 659 views. Atlanta, GA - On Saturday, Delta Airlines is set to retire the 777 aircraft from their fleet.The Iconic aircraft was so common around major airports around the U.S. And the world will embark on its final revenue flight on Halloween, flying between New York's JFK Airport and LAX in Los Angeles.
- The 777 was something of an oddball in the carrier’s widebody fleet. Delta only had 18 of the type — eight of the -200ER and 10 of the -200LR — with no plans to add more, whereas it has nearly 60 more next-generation Airbus A330 and A350 wide-bodies on order.
- MIAMI - Delta Air Lines (DL) has made the decision to permanently retire by the end of 2020 its Boeing 777 fleet, comprised of 18 aircraft, due to the unprecedented drop in travel demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic shutdown. Delta's CEO Ed Bastian states today in an internal memo that the airline.
The Boeing 777 is a long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the commercial business unit of Boeing. Commonly referred to as 'Triple Seven', it is the largest twinjet.
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The coronavirus pandemic has claimed another victim in the fleets of U.S. airlines with Delta Air Lines saying that it will retire its Boeing 777s.
The Atlanta-based carrier will remove its 18 777-200s by year-end on expectations of a long and slow recovery in international travel after the crisis, Delta CEO Ed Bastian told staff in a memo on Thursday.
The move will leave Delta with a wide-body fleet made up of solely Airbus jets by next year. This includes its A350-900 flagship that features 32 of its Delta One business class suites, and the new A330-900 that the airline debuted last July.
© The Points Guy A Delta 777 takes off from Sydney. (Image via Getty Images)“Retiring a fleet as iconic as the 777 is not an easy decision,” Bastian told staff. “The 777 played an important role with Delta since 1999, allowing us to open new long-haul markets and grow our international network as we transformed into a global airline.”
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The move comes a day after the International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast that it could be three to four years before international travel returns to pre-COVID levels.
“We would expect to see domestic air travel markets to be opening first and international markets much slower to open,” IATA chief economist Brian Pearce said on May 13. “International air travel is really dependent on a relaxation of travel restrictions.”
Related:Air travel travel won’t return to pre-coronvirus levels until 2023
Prior to the crisis, Delta flew its 777s on long-haul routes around the world, according to Cirium schedules. These include its nonstop between New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Mumbai (BOM) that began in December, and the only U.S. airline service to Johannesburg (JNB) in South Africa.
The wide-body jets also featured some of Delta’s newest cabins. The airline only recently finished retrofitting the 777s with Delta One suites, as well as its Premium Select premium economy seats. Delta was also the only U.S. airline to offer a spacious 3-3-3 economy layout on the planes; American Airlines and United Airlines both configure economy class on their 777s in a tighter 3-4-3 seating layout.
Delta’s 777s are the latest casualty of the coronavirus. The crisis is claiming hundreds of jets from airline fleets, including six types at American Airlines — A330s, Boeing 757s and 767s, Bombardier CRJ200s and Embraer E190s. Delta is also saying goodbye to its McDonnell Douglas MD-88s and MD-90s.
Related:The ultimate guide to Delta One Suites© The Points Guy A Delta One suite on the 777. (Photo by Nick Ellis/The Points Guy)
Delta’s 777 decision is not a complete surprise. Evercore analyst Duane Pfennigwerth told TPG in April that the airline may retire some “oddball” aircraft in its fleet, or models that it has few of with no plans to add more. The 777s are the airline’s smallest standalone fleet.
Delta had parked 677 jets due to COVID-19 as of May 13, according to an update to staff. That includes 10 of its 18 777s as well as all of its Airbus A320s.
One jet that Delta continues to fly is the Airbus A220, a plane that is both comfortable or passengers and economic for airlines.
Related:Why the new Airbus A220 is popular with airlines during the coronavirus pandemic
Delta Airlines 777 Engines
Featured image by Alberto Riva/The Points Guy.
Delta Airlines 777 200lr
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