Retired Aircraft
Retired Aircraft

The low demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all airlines to resize their fleet and flight operations. With this some airlines sent their aircraft to storage sites and some straight into retirement. Here we have collected a list of retired aircraft to share with you.

Lufthansa

At the beginning of April, Lufthansa Group announced the first measures for reducing the fleet due to the lower demand caused by COVID-19.

The A340-600 fleet will be temporarily decommissioned as well as six Airbus A380s and five Boeing 747-400s. Lufthansa Cityline will also withdraw three Airbus A340-300 aircraft from service.

Lufthansa’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, announced that after COVID-19 the airline will be smaller and will reduce the size of the fleet by about 100 aircraft.

In the short-haul segment, operated by Eurowings, an additional ten Airbus A320s are planned to be phased out.

KLM

Last month KLM retired their entire fleet of Boeing 747-400s. Initially the airline was expecting to retire this type of aircraft in 2021, but due to COVID-19 the retirement was brought forward without much notice.

Currently, three KLM 747-400Ms (PH-BFT, PH-BFV and PH-BFW) are continuing to fly to Shanghai as cargo flights only.

KLM B747-400
KLM B747-400

Air France

During an interview with the French newspaper La Tribune, Air France CEO Ben Smith confirmed that he is anticipating the exit of the Airbus A380 fleet.

The first A380 left the fleet in January, performing its last flight to Ireland to be dismantled. Since then Air France have sent two A380s to Tarbes Airport in France and another two to Teruel, Spain.

a group of airplanes on a runway
Air France A380

Virgin Atlantic

This week, Virgin Atlantic announced the immediate retirement of all their B747-400 and four A330-200 aircraft.

Virgin Atlantic B747-400
Virgin Atlantic B747-400

On March 24th the airline retired their last A340-600 (G-VWIN). The last three aircraft flew to Bournemouth Airport and two of them, G-VNAP and G-VWIN, already have a new owner, Maleth-Aero.

IAG Group

IAG Group, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, announced the potential early retirement of BA B747s and Iberia’s A340s.

American Airlines

American has officially retired the Embraer E190, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 fleets, which were originally scheduled to retire by the end of 2020. The airline has also accelerated the retirement of their Airbus A330-300s. Additionally, American is retiring 19 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft, operated by PSA Airlines.

American Airlines B757-200
American Airlines B757-200
American Airlines B767-300
American Airlines B767-300

Delta

Delta will retire the MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft earlier than previously planned, with both aircraft types exiting the fleet effective June 2020.

“We’re making strategic, cost-effective changes to our fleet to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic while also ensuring Delta is well-positioned for the recovery on the backside of the crisis,”

said Gil West, Delta’s Chief Operating Officer

Delta Air Lines also announced that it will retire its 18 widebody Boeing 777-200 by the end of 2020. The airline 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.

“The 777 has been a reliable part of Delta’s success since it joined the fleet in 1999 and because of its unique operating characteristics, opened new non-stop, ultra-long-haul markets that only it could fly at that time.”

said Gil West, Delta’s Chief Operating Officer
Delta MD-90 - Jay Bowie
Delta MD-90 – Jay Bowie

Air Canada

Air Canada is accelerating the retirement of 79 older aircraft from their fleet, including Boeing 767, Airbus 319 and Embraer 190 aircraft, with the Embraer aircraft exiting the fleet immediately.

Air Canada B767-300
Air Canada B767-300

Air Transat

At the end of March, Air Transat retired their last A310 with registration C-GSAT. Air Transat repatriation flight TS765 from Porto, Portugal arrived in Toronto via Halifax on 30th March.

The last flight was scheduled for the 27th of April from Quebec to Paris and back.

Austrian

Last month, Austrian Airlines announced, in a statement, that they will start the phase-out of part of the fleet; including the retirement of all seven A319s and three of six B767-300s until 2022, then the rest of the Dash 8 fleet.

Singapore Airlines

According to RoutesOnline, Singapore Airlines will be pushing forward the retirement of their B777-200/ER. A few of them are now parked in Alice Springs, NT, Australia.

Singapore Airlines B777-200/ER
Singapore Airlines B777-200/ER

Any Other Retired Aircraft?

Do you know of any other retired aircraft? Feel free to share with me in the comments below.