NEW YORKThe American low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways has announced that it would delay the retirement of its Embraer 190 jets as the airline still evaluates the post-coronavirus demand for air travel.



Speaking during the company’s quarterly earnings call on July 27, JetBlue acting chief financial officer Ursula Hurley said the airline’s 30 leased E190s will leave the fleet between 2023-2026. The other 30 of the same type, which the airline owns, will remain with the airline.

In 2018, JetBlue had planned to retire all its 60 E190s between 2020 and 2025.

“We have delayed the retirement of the 30 owned aircraft,” Hurley says. JetBlue will “evaluate… the most optimal time to retire those aircraft” based on factors including the jets’ costs and the American joint venture.

She adds that the company is “making investments in that fleet type to ensure that we can grow margins and capitalize on the [joint venture] opportunity”.

JetBlue’s E190s are an average of 12.7 years old.

The US carrier took delivery of two Airbus A220s during the second quarter and now has four in service. It expectsfour more to join the fleet by the end of September.