Originally Posted by
Jeremy3292
Sorry the way I worded that post was unclear; I was talking about the entire Delta fleet and how to reduce costs. They are getting rid of the MD's due to high maintenance costs and they are getting rid of the 777's as they are a very small number in the fleet. Small number of planes = higher maintenance costs due to lack of economies of scale when it comes to that model. If you have 25 777's and 100 A350's (all things being equal), the A350 maintenance costs will be less on a per plane basis because you are servicing more of the same plane vs a small number of another plane. It makes sense to get rid of the old planes (MD's) as they require substantial maintenance due to age and are no longer needed due to less demand. The 777's are being retired as they are an "outlier" plane in the fleet. You want to consolidate down to newer planes (less maintenance), planes that service the routes you intend to keep (high demand routes), and planes you have the most of (streamline maintenance and parts).
Well you might be surprised to learn that Delta Tech Ops services aircraft and engines they don't even operate. You can routinely see non-DL aircraft parked at Tech Ops. It was reported on another site that Tech Ops would begin taking 787 work. And we know Delta doesn't have any of those. Now, you might make a case for line maintenance. Fewer parts would need to be stocked at outstations. My personal opinion is that DL sees this as an opportunity to get some cash. The 777F is based on the 772LR and the cargo market isn't hurting anywhere near as bad as passenger.