FedEx Express Retires 22 Boeing 757 Freighters

DALLAS — FedEx Express (FX) announced in its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results that it had retired 22 Boeing 757 Freighters, resulting in an impairment charge of US$157 million.

As a result, the company's total trunk aircraft fleet now stands at 389, compared to 407 last year. The company also retired nine MD-11Fs over the past fiscal year, as previously planned.

The redux left FX with 92 Boeing 757F aircraft, down from 115 the previous year. Additionally, seven engines associated with these aircraft were also retired, according to aircargonews.net.

While retiring 31 larger freighters in the past year, FX has also taken delivery of 10 Boeing 767 Freighters and four Boeing 777 Freighters. Deliveries of the Boeing 767F run through 2025 to replace older Airbus A300-600RF and the aforementioned MD-11F.

Regardless of the move, FX is still the world's largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown.

Reasons for the Fleet Reduction

FedEx said the Boeing 757F retirement was done to better align capacity with market demand as customers looked to cheaper options as capacity increased in the global air cargo market. Q4 operating profits were down by more than half year on year with revenues stagnant from the same period.

Chief customer officer Brie Carere stated, “At FedEx Express, revenue in the fourth quarter was flat, with package yield up 2%, while positive yield growth was pressured by a tapering of international export demand surcharges and an increasing mix of deferred services."

‍On April 1, 2024, United Parcel Service, aka UPS (5X), announced that it was becoming the primary air cargo provider for the United States Postal Service (USPS), replacing FX in this role and ending its more than 20-year partnership with USPS.

The new contract between 5X and USPS will begin in late September 2024 after the current contract between USPS and FX expires on September 29.

FedEx is still the largest operator of the Boeing 757F; it is also the largest operator of the Boeing 767F.