U.S. airlines’ old-aircraft handicap
Airline consultants have sobering words about the age of the U.S. legacy carriers’ fleets. Even if the carriers were to make new orders today, planes would not be delivered until 2012-2015.
By that time according to AAscend, the world’s leading provider of information and consultancy to the global aerospace industry, aging aircraft will also have repercussions when it comes to cost of operation and fuel efficiency that will push U.S. carriers further behind foreign carriers, with their newer fleets, in terms of competitive positioning.
Northwest Airlines’ DC-9s will pushing 40-years-old.
The American Airlines fleet will have problems across its aircraft lines:
— 15 Boeing 767-200ER will be on average 28 years old
— 58 Boeing 767-300ER will be on average 21 years old
— 126 Boeing 757-200 will be on average 19 years old
And for United Airlines, in 2015 its fleet of:
— 64 Boeing 737-300 will be on average 26 years old
— 30 Boeing 737-500 will be on average 23 years old
— 97 Boeing 757-200 will be on average 23 years old
— 35 Boeing 767-300ER will be on average 20 years old
Without aircraft on order U.S. legacy carriers will only find probelms multiplying.
In any case estimates for replacement aircraft are in the $20 billion per airline range and the total presented by these consultants for necessary aircraft upgrades is more than $110 billion.
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