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 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. Delta’s 777 retirement in favor of Airbus jets is tinged with irony. The Boeing wide-body having edged out the competing Airbus A330 for the order in 1997. Boeing originally pitched the 777 as a replacement for Delta’s Lockheed L-1011 fleet in 1996, according to reporting by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While the jet was viewed as too large for the L-1011s primarily U.S. Domestic routes, the planemakers decision to stretch the 767 — what became the 767-400ER — to replace the.

• Delta Air Lines 777
• American Airlines 777 Seating Chart

Delta Air Lines announced they’ll be retiring their entire Boeing 777 fleet the end of the year. Due to COVID-19, we can expect all 18 Boeing 777 aircraft used primarily on longhaul international routes to be retired.

This news comes after Delta’s earlier announcement to retire MD-88, MD-90 fleets in June, which reduces Delta’s mainline fleet by 66 aircraft between the two.

Per Delta,

Delta plans to retire its 18 widebody Boeing 777s by the end of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The retirement will accelerate the airline’s strategy to simplify and modernize its fleet, while continuing to operate newer, more cost-efficient aircraft.

Last month, Delta announced plans to accelerate the retirement of the MD-88 and MD-90 fleets to June. Since the onset of the COVID-19 situation, Delta has reacted quickly by parking aircraft and considering early aircraft retirements to reduce operational complexity and cost. To date, the airline has parked more than 650 mainline and regional aircraft to adjust capacity to match reduced customer demand.

The Boeing 777-200 first entered the fleet in 1999 and grew to 18 aircraft, including 10 of the long-range 777-200LR variant, which arrived in 2008. At the time, aircraft was uniquely positioned to fly non-stop between Atlanta and Johannesburg, South Africa, Los Angeles to Sydney and other distant destinations.

Delta will continue flying its fleet of long-haul next generation Airbus A350-900s, which burn 21% less fuel per seat than the 777s they will replace.

Bottom Line

It’s unfortunate that Delta will be retiring the Boeing 777 aircraft, as the airline only recently retrofitted the first plane less than 2 years ago with the new Delta One Suites. Delta’s 777 fleet includes a mix of eight of 777-200ER and 10 777-200LR aircraft.

Despite Delta’s Airbus A350-900s being more fuel efficient, it’s unclear if these aircraft would be fit two of Delta’s longest flights between Los Angeles-Sydney and Atlanta- Johannesburg due to weight restrictions due to cargo.

At best, we’d likely see passenger loads being limited on both of these routes, however there would be revenue displacement as a result, so I wouldn’t rule out anything with it comes to Delta’s international route map going forward.

What are your thoughts on Delta retiring the Boeing 777 fleet? Is this something that you saw coming? Leave a comment below.

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Delta Air Lines 777

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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.

“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.”

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

Featured image by Alberto Riva/The Points Guy.

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American Airlines 777 Seating Chart

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