Absolutely crazy how devastating the impact is affecting airlines…
Delta has announced numerous actions to protect their financial position:
These actions include:
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An overall capacity reduction in the next few months by 40%, which is the largest capacity reduction ever in Delta’s history, surpassing 9/11.
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For 30 days, Delta will completely suspending flights to Continental Europe except for London.
These are the transatlantic routes Delta was previously set to operate this month:
Instead, Delta will only operate these once-daily flights:
- Atlanta to Amsterdam
- Atlanta to London-Heathrow
- Atlanta to Paris-Charles De Gaulle
- Detroit to Amsterdam
- Detroit to London-Heathrow
- New York-JFK to London-Heathrow
- New York-JFK to Dublin
Delta will ground 600 aircraft as the reduced capacity requires a smaller fleet.
This means Delta will likely ground a majority of their widebody fleet such as the 777s, A350s, and A330neos as they have the most capacity and a large portion of their international long-haul network will be suspended.
Delta will also accelerate the retirement of the MD-88s/90s and older 767s.
Delta will defer new aircraft deliveries to manage their reduced capacity and preserve cash.
Currently, Delta has these aircraft on order:
- 14 A220-100s
- 50 A220-300s
- 27 A321s
- 100 A321neos
- 32 A330-900neos
- 16 A350-900s
All of these aircraft variants are set to be delivered this year and onward, so any of them could be deferred.
Additionally, Delta will also:
- Reduce capital expenditures by at least $2 billion for the year, including delaying aircraft mods, IT initiatives and other opportunities to preserve cash.
- Immediately offer voluntary short-term, unpaid leaves as well as an immediate hiring freeze.
- Substantially reduce the use of consultants and contractors.
Delta’s Press Release: https://news.delta.com/ceo-ed-bastian-delta-takes-further-steps-protect-our-customers-employees-and-business
From Delta CEO Ed Bastian:
We’ll be making more critical decisions on our response in days to come. The situation is fluid and likely to be getting worse. But what hasn’t changed is this: Delta remains better-positioned to weather a storm of this magnitude than ever before in our history. We’ve spent a decade building a strong, resilient airline powered by the best professionals in the business. We will get through this, and taking strong, decisive action now will ensure that we are properly positioned to recover our business when customers start to travel again.
"In light of these developments, I’m foregoing 100 percent of my salary, effective immediately, for the next six months."
It’s insane how much aviation is being impacted. Unfortunately it’s getting worse every day, with more cuts coming from every airline. As of now, Delta has announced the largest capacity cuts out of any U.S. airline