Though it's very early in the day to comment on what caused Lufthansa-subsidiary Germanwings' Airbus A320 to crash in the French Alps earlier today with presumably all souls lost, on flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, one of the earliest facts picked up by news outlets was that the aircraft was around 24 years old. Airframe facts such as age are now routinely available on aircraft websites, often updated by volunteers.
To be crystal clear, the age of an aircraft has almost nothing to do with its ability to fly safely. Indeed, all Germanwings aircraft are maintained by LufthansaTechnik, a Lufthansa arm that is a global leader and among the most respected on the planet when it comes to providing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for aircraft, engines and components and which employs over 25,000 people. But older aircraft do need more maintenance, are fuel guzzlers and there is also the airframe fatigue factor. Indian airlines prefer younger aircraft as they are cheaper to maintain and usually return aircraft back to leasing firms before major and expensive maintenance checks are due. The D check which happens every seven years is the most expensive and Indian airlines like IndiGo have preferred to return aircraft within around six years of use.
While the ill-fated German Airbus A320 was around 24 years old, the immediate questions about its age may also raise similar questions in India, where Air India, India's national airline, flies Airbus A320s that are older; in fact, around 26 years old. Judging by the Airbus A320 production list maintained on Planespotters.net Air India may well be flying the oldest Airbus A320s in the world. The only airline supposedly flying an older one is Jordan Aviation, a small Jordanian carrier. However, the aircraft in question doesn't seem to have flown any flights in recent weeks according to data from aviation tracking websites.
24/03/15 Ivor Soans/First Post
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To be crystal clear, the age of an aircraft has almost nothing to do with its ability to fly safely. Indeed, all Germanwings aircraft are maintained by LufthansaTechnik, a Lufthansa arm that is a global leader and among the most respected on the planet when it comes to providing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for aircraft, engines and components and which employs over 25,000 people. But older aircraft do need more maintenance, are fuel guzzlers and there is also the airframe fatigue factor. Indian airlines prefer younger aircraft as they are cheaper to maintain and usually return aircraft back to leasing firms before major and expensive maintenance checks are due. The D check which happens every seven years is the most expensive and Indian airlines like IndiGo have preferred to return aircraft within around six years of use.
While the ill-fated German Airbus A320 was around 24 years old, the immediate questions about its age may also raise similar questions in India, where Air India, India's national airline, flies Airbus A320s that are older; in fact, around 26 years old. Judging by the Airbus A320 production list maintained on Planespotters.net Air India may well be flying the oldest Airbus A320s in the world. The only airline supposedly flying an older one is Jordan Aviation, a small Jordanian carrier. However, the aircraft in question doesn't seem to have flown any flights in recent weeks according to data from aviation tracking websites.
24/03/15 Ivor Soans/First Post
