Delta to retire more than 100 DC-9s, CRJs, Saab turboprops
By Perry Flint |



Delta Air Lines will retire more than 100 regional and mainline aircraft over the next 12-18 months as it trims planned capacity growth in the face of rising fuel prices, President Ed Bastian said Thursday.

Addressing the Raymond James Growth Airline Conference available via webcast, he said, "I know this will bring a tear to many eyes but we are going to finally retire the DC-9 fleet." Delta removed 35 DC-9-30s and -40s last year, he said. "We are going to be retiring about 35 DC-9-50s over the next 12-18 months. By next year, there will be no DC-9s flying in the Delta fleet."

Bastian said DL will also ground 26 Saab 340s, which like the DC-9s were acquired in the merger with Northwest Airlines and around 60 50-seat regional jets, mostly Bombardier CRJ-100s. He added, "If we need to do more, we will do more. We have a fair number of aircraft that we are ready to ground…."

Capacity for the first quarter is now expected to be up 3-5% compared to the year-ago period, down from the 5-7% growth forecast in its fourth quarter 2010 conference call. Delta is also "evaluating our full year plan in that regard and my expectation is that you will see us taking more capacity out on a full year basis," with capacity likely to rise just 1% versus 2010.

In December, DL issued an RFP for up to 200 narrowbodies to replace its DC-9s, Airbus A320s and possibly its Boeing 757s. On Wednesday, Bastian characterized the initiative as a "Very very preliminary dialogue. I don't anticipate making a decision for quite some time; l wouldn't expect before the latter part of this year at the earliest."

He said that DL expects its operating margin for the first quarter to be in the 1-3% range, equivalent to the year-ago period, despite a $400 million increase in fuel costs. Delta also plans to reduce capital expenditure to $1.3 billion from the $1.6 billion figure previously announced "to account for incremental fuel costs."

Commenting on the airline's interest in acquiring MD-90s in the aftermarket he said "We can acquire a used MD-90, fully equipped with all maintenance checks done for roughly $10 million all in with 160 seats," making it a good replacement for the MD-88.