A FedEx Express A310 at Cleveland along with a 727 in February 2011. The Airbus is already retired, and the last 727 service will be on July 1, 2013. Photo: George Mihalek – OPShots Contributor //
FedEx Corp.’s decision late yesterday to permanently ground 24 aircraft and 43 aircraft engines may be the first step in a deeper restructuring of the company’s domestic air operations. The company is looking to adjust costs in response to a secular downshift in U.S. air cargo volumes.
The Memphis-based giant said it would retire 18 Airbus A-310 freighters and 26 related engines, as well as six Boeing MD-10 aircraft and 17 Boeing engines. Most of those planes are currently parked and not in revenue service, the company said.
“Along with the decisions to retire these 50 aircraft, we are also developing detailed operating and cost structure plans to further improve our efficiency,” David J. Bronczek, president and CEO of FedEx Express, the company’s air and international unit, said in a statement. Those plans will be detailed sometime this fall, Bronczek added.
