Senior Editor

Jerry Siebenmark

Delta Air Lines will retire another aircraft model from its fleet as it continues to wrestle with the “staggering” effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on commercial air travel and its earnings, which the Atlanta based carrier announced today amounted to a $7 billion pre-tax loss on a more than $11 billion decline in revenue in the year-over-year June quarter. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said on a Tuesday earnings call that the airline will retire its Boeing 737-700s this year, in addition to the previously announced retirements of its MD-88, MD-90, and Boeing 777s.

 


“We have the most flexible fleet in the U.S. and are pulling forward these and additional fleet simplification initiatives, which we believe will provide a lasting benefit to our cost structure,” Bastian said. At last count, Delta’s mainline fleet included 10 Boeing 737-700s.

 


Delta also has begun “working” with Airbus on its order book, according to Bastian, although he didn’t disclose any details in terms of extending the Airbus delivery timeline or restructuring its orders. “I can assure you there will be no cash capex on any aircraft at Delta for some period of time, certainly through the end of this year,” Bastian added.

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