FedEx to park 11 freighters by 2023 fiscal yearend

FedEx will continue to streamline costs by placing an additional eleven aircraft into storage by the end of its 2023 fiscal year.

The aircraft will “mostly” be widebody freighters, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michael C. Lenz said this week during the company’s fiscal Q2 2023 earnings call.

In addition to parking the aircraft, FedEx has managed to reduce costs by $1.2 billion and expects to save up to $3.7 billion by the end of the fiscal year, President and Chief Executive Raj Subramaniam said.

“Revenue at FedEx Express was down 3% year over year, primarily due to volume and yield softness in Europe and Asia,” FedEx Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere said during the call.

The company recently placed the following aircraft into storage at Victorville (VCV): two 757-200Fs (25490 and 25253) on Nov. 18 and Dec. 2, respectively, one A300-600F on Oct. 1, and one MD-10-30F (46992) on Sept. 29.

FedEx expects to retire its remaining fleet of eight MD-10-30Fs by the end of its fiscal year on June 30, 2023, according to its earnings report.

After placing five aircraft into storage, the express carrier has reduced eight international routes and thirty-two U.S. domestic routes, decreasing U.S. domestic flight hours in Q2 by 6% YoY and international flight hours by 7% YoY, Lenz said.

While FedEx closely monitors operational costs, UPS placed an order with Boeing for eight more 767-300Fs in August, and DHL added its third 767-300BCF to its Panama-based subsidiary carrier DHL Aero Expreso (DAE) earlier this month and has recently taken delivery of its tenth A330-300P2F.

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