Delta to retire its entire Boeing 777 fleet by the end of the year
 

And MD-90s at the end of June.

"Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. dropped 4.2% in premarket trading Thursday, putting them on track to open at a 7- year low, after the air carrier disclosed that it will remove all of its Boeing 777 aircraft by the end of the year to help stem cash burn amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Delta said it also expects the MD-90 aircraft to exit its fleet in June."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/de...ear-2020-05-14

Wow. Just incredible to see how quickly the bottom can fall out.

I kind of expected the 767 to go first. This is just shocking. The 77L subfleet is barely 10 years old.

Are JNB and SYD still doable with the new fleet?

Wow. That is a very bold move. How old are they?

The first 777-200ER was delivered in 1999, and the last two 777-200LRs were delivered in 2010. Delta has a total of 8 777-200ERs and 10 777-200LRs. Unfortunately the writing was on the wall with such a small fleet and the LatAm A350s coming aboard.

A real shame, IMO, the 777 is my favorite Delta widebody today, simply because the fuselage is wider than the A350 but still has the same seating configuration (the D1 suite is slightly bigger/wider than on the A350 and the Coach seats are the widest in the Delta widebody fleet today).

In times of low demand, small planes become more popular

Wow, they just finished installing the interior mods on these earlier this year. I don't know if the cost was ever publicized, but it must have been substantial.

I thought the LRs were the only planes in the fleet with the legs to get to JNB and SYD.

Such sad news.....

Hopefully the 75S makes a return to serve TATL routes as its last hurrah. Those planes are starting to get old too.

Wow and they just reconfigured those recently too, and the frames aren't that old. I really like the 777... shame to see DL becoming an Airbus company.

On a good day a high-MTOW variant of an A359 might be able to make it with payload restrictions. But more than likely this means the end of ATL-JNB in the near-term. LAX-SYD should be okay with a high MTOW variant.

That's my takeaway as well. I was thinking there might have been a chance that DL might bite on rock bottom prices for the MAX, but it seems like they are quickly becoming one of Airbus' most important clients.

SYD yes. JNB doesn't have a prayer on the 350.

Wow -- unfortunate given they just spent the money doing the refurbs (I enjoyed my D1 trip on ICN - MSP this past fall).

Can't imagine this bodes well for Boeing and the 777X program. I know DL isn't a 777X customer but if they are retiring 777s they already own (I don't believe they lease any of the 777s, I believe they are all wholly owned by DL) that's a very bad sign for the 777X program because who is going to buy new 777Xs if they don't even want perfectly good 777s with brand new interiors?

It is key to note that the press release (in the below post states):More specific details of the timing of the 777’s exit from the fleet will be disclosed at a later date.

And since DAL wholly owns these planes there is of course the (remote) possibility that they reverse this decision if air travel finds a way to recover in the short-term (again remote possibility).

Official from DL now: https://news.delta.com/deltas-777-ai...-amid-covid-19