Are you an aircraft ageist?

May 2011

Just as some people shy away from divulging their true age, airlines often keep the true age of their aircraft, particularly the older ones, under wraps – or a new coat of paint. But the age of the commercial aircraft may not be as important as how they are used and maintained.

Boeing, the manufacturer of the Southwest Airlines 737-300 that blew a hole in its skin large enough to cause a rapid decompression earlier in April, was surprised that the event took place when it did. For the Boeing 737-300 series the expected time before minute cracks would even be possible was thought to be at 60,000 cycles (takeoffs and landings). The Southwest jet involved in the emergency had reached 39,000 cycles. Though the airline operates its aircraft at greater frequencies than many others, Boeing says that it does not believe the quality of Southwest Airlines maintenance was at fault. In fact, Southwest Airlines has never lost a passenger to an aircraft accident in its 40 year history and the few incidents or accidents that have occurred over the decades have not been attributed to poor maintenance.

At issue is the age at which an aircraft exceeds its useful life. Properly maintained, aircraft can fly for several decades, as long as parts are maintained, repaired or upgraded. What causes airlines to send aircraft to the aviation bone yards has everything to do with money. As aircraft get older, it costs more to maintain them. Newer aircraft are getting more fuel efficient and more attractive to the airlines. The fact that service bulletins and maintenance recommendations from manufacturers of older aircraft pop up intermittently during an aircraft's lifetime adds to a level of unpredictability that increases the cost to airlines planning for expected maintenance.

Fuel efficiency and capacity are the largest drivers for airline aircraft decisions. The planes that make the most money for the lowest cost in a given market usually stay. The rest get sold, stored or scrapped. Many "mothballed" aircraft wind up going to new airlines in emerging markets. This can be concerning if they wind up in the hands of sub-standard airline operators. Then again, any aircraft in such hands would be a concern. This is why aviation bodies in most developed countries insist on minimum safety standards for aircraft that are to operate to, from or over their regions. Non-compliant older aircraft are the likeliest to be banned from some markets.

So how old is that plane you are about to take? It's difficult to determine. The manufacturing plate was often located inside the entry door to many older aircraft but regulators do not specifically require it to be visible to passengers, only the appropriate personnel and government inspectors. In addition, the actual manufacture date of an aircraft could be hidden in a serial or registration number and not immediately visible to the average passenger. If you are savvy enough you can find registration web sites that list the history of an aircraft based on the registration identification printed near the tail of an aircraft. Not all countries list this information, however, and often you are left to guess. Even if you find this information out, airlines can swap out airplanes at the last minute so it sometimes can be nearly impossible to know how old your plane is. This is when the airline and its standards matter.

A passenger's perception of a dingy aircraft cabin often leads to the conclusion that the airline most not care about its maintenance if dirty panels are loose inside the cabin or the carpet is horribly dirty. Unfair as this may seem, airlines with the newest fleets and cleanest interiors tend to get a pass when it comes to such assumptions about maintenance. But the truth may be hidden inside those dirty or clean interior panels. So far, the industry's overall good safety record is attributed to proper maintenance and training over the years. The aviation business has learned some important safety lessons in its history and each alarming incident must be used to further shore up established safety standards. Yet sometimes wet get lucky, and getting lucky never gets old.

Below are average fleet age statistics for some of the most commonly flown airlines. Keep in mind that these are averages and may represent the average of some very old aircraft offset by recently acquired ones.

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