Originally Posted by
3Cforme
Delta won't retire them early because they have more pressing replacement needs. Even after receipt of ~175 739s and A321s over the last few years the average age of the DL mainline fleet is 16.2 years (AA, 10.6; WN, 10.9; UA, 15.0).
This is disingenuous, at best. DL has always had an old fleet and that is a core part of their business strategy. It is not something that they are trying to fix. It's intentional. There are no "pressing replacement needs". None.