November-December 2022 - 32

SPECIAL FEATURE
How Often Do
Commercial Aircraft
Need to Be Replaced?
by Vance Hilderman
J
ust like laptops, printers or mobile phones,
commercial aircraft eventually need to be
replaced. Around 700 planes are retired every
year. With aircraft, the stakes are much higher
than they are with smartphones. A broken
phone is a cause for annoyance and inconvenience.
A broken or outdated airplane? That's a
much bigger deal. Aircraft are entrusted with the precious
cargo of hundreds of lives. Their safety and reliability
need to be beyond question.
Fortunately, the life span and regular maintenance/upgrades
of commercial aircraft are strictly regulated. On average, they get
replaced every 22.8 years, according to Statistica. But there are
many factors to consider around their retirement, not to mention
what happens to them after they're
put out to pasture. In the past 10
years, aircraft were replaced
more frequently than they had to be because fuel prices went
up, so aircraft were replaced with more fuel-efficient models.
There are other factors, too. Consider most aircraft cost
between $60 and $115 million to replace. While safety must be
the primary concern, that's enough money that aircraft owners
would want to make sure that they're replacing a jet no sooner
than is necessary.
When Do You Retire a Plane?
There are many reasons to decommission planes. One example is
when a new, more cost-efficient model comes out, as mentioned
above. Some planes, like the 747-400s at British Airways, were
retired earlier than expected because they had too many premium
seats to be profitable. Newer and very capable aircraft such as
Singapore Airlines A380s were likewise sent to the scrapyard
when perfectly functional: increased operating (fuel) costs meant
they were unprofitable and no airlines wanted to acquire them.
32 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY

November-December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November-December 2022

EDITOR’S TAKEOFF
Industry Inspection
2023 Annual Directory
Mitigating Hand Tool Fatigue and Injury Through Ergonomics
How Often Do Commercial Aircraft Need to Be Replaced?
Phoenix Rising Aviation Soars to New Heights
FOR THE RECORD
ARSA INSIGHT
Saft: Powering Aviation Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Advertiser’s Index
November-December 2022 - 1
November-December 2022 - 2
November-December 2022 - 3
November-December 2022 - EDITOR’S TAKEOFF
November-December 2022 - 5
November-December 2022 - Industry Inspection
November-December 2022 - 7
November-December 2022 - 8
November-December 2022 - 9
November-December 2022 - 2023 Annual Directory
November-December 2022 - 11
November-December 2022 - 12
November-December 2022 - 13
November-December 2022 - 14
November-December 2022 - 15
November-December 2022 - 16
November-December 2022 - 17
November-December 2022 - 18
November-December 2022 - 19
November-December 2022 - 20
November-December 2022 - 21
November-December 2022 - 22
November-December 2022 - 23
November-December 2022 - 24
November-December 2022 - 25
November-December 2022 - 26
November-December 2022 - 27
November-December 2022 - Mitigating Hand Tool Fatigue and Injury Through Ergonomics
November-December 2022 - 29
November-December 2022 - 30
November-December 2022 - 31
November-December 2022 - How Often Do Commercial Aircraft Need to Be Replaced?
November-December 2022 - 33
November-December 2022 - Phoenix Rising Aviation Soars to New Heights
November-December 2022 - 35
November-December 2022 - 36
November-December 2022 - 37
November-December 2022 - FOR THE RECORD
November-December 2022 - ARSA INSIGHT
November-December 2022 - Saft: Powering Aviation Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
November-December 2022 - 41
November-December 2022 - Advertiser’s Index
November-December 2022 - 43
November-December 2022 - 44
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