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Airlines using old aircraft faces imminent business collapse

By David Abellegah on January 4, 2013

Since the June 3, 2012 Dana Air crash, airlines with relatively old planes have lost a good number of their clients. It was gathered that the Dana Airplane that crashed was 22 years old.

Passengers now avoid older planes for new ones. This development began soon after the Dana crash; now the development has worsened, there seem to be new room for old planes even Charter airline operators with old planes are gradually been faced out of business.

Findings have shown that VIP’s who often charter aircrafts now shun operators with older planes in their number.

Operators with older planes are now gradually been forced out of business, although the development is leading to safer air travel in the country with fewer old planes flying.

An inside source who spoke in confidence said, “These are surely not the best of times for charter airlines with old planes in their fleet. Most of the VIPs are dragging their feet about patronising them. The clients prefer operators with relatively new planes.

“But I think it is an ugly trend because we have been explaining it clearly that there is nothing like old or new planes as far as safety is concerned. Keeping to an aircraft’s maintenance schedule is the key thing. I think it is misinformation and it is not good for the industry.”

Airline operators like VistaJets and Top Brass Aviation are still enjoying patronage since they have new planes in their fleet.

Experts have however debunked the claims that older planes are more liable to air disaster, saying the age of a airplane has nothing to do with its safety, stressing that maintenance has everything to do with safety.

Speaking on the same issue, the Director, Business Development and Strategy, Aero Consults Limited, Captain Dele Ore, affirmed that the age of an aircraft does not lead to air mishaps. The age is very important so that you will know what kind of attention you need to give to the aircraft. The age does not determine what time you will stop flying it.”

Adding, Ore said, the life span, old age, due retirement age of an airplane is determined by its maintenance and safety requirements.

Some have argued that a 20 year old aircraft might be relatively newer than a 10 year aircraft because the 20 year aircraft might be more updated, upgraded and maintained more properly thaan the 10 year old.

“An aircraft becomes obsolete if its operating cost exceeds the cost of a newer competing aircraft. That is once an old aircraft becomes too expensive to maintain, it should be retired by the operator,” he added, according to Ore.

He concluded by saying that the authentic age of an aircraft can only be measured by its “economic life spam”

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