US airline fleet strategy and finance Part 1: The Big 3 take differing approaches to fleet revamps

The three large US global network airlines are busy undertaking re-fleeting projects, taking advantage of favourable interest rates as they replace ageing aircraft in their mainline fleets. American and United in particular have touted favourable rates they have garnered in 2015 to fund a portion of their aircraft deliveries.

But each airline is taking a slightly different approach to mainline re-fleeting. American is focussed on adding new build aircraft to replace ageing MD-80s while United has tapped the used narrowbody market during 2015. The attractiveness of used aircraft obviously increases in a low fuel-cost environment, but those jets also become more attractive as deliveries of next generation narrowbodies drive down values of existing models.

Delta Air Lines has long adopted a philosophy of sourcing used narrowbodies, concluding that the lower ownership costs of those aircraft provide overall financial benefits. The airline is also taking delivery of new narrowbodies, but is opting to stick to current generation models, reflecting a conservative approach to hastily adopting new aircraft technologies.