According to data provided by planespotters.net, Dana Airlines aircraft are the grand daddies of planes plying the Nigerian skies.
At present, it operates six aircraft, all MD-80s, with the youngest delivered October 2014 and registered as 5N-BKI. It is now 22.3 years old. Another plane in the fleet, 5N-SAI is 28.1 years old.
A random check of the fleet of Nigeria’s airlines, shows that Arik Air has the youngest fleet of 23 aircraft, with average age of 11 years. Dana Airlines, which started operations in November 2008 has the oldest fleet of a range of McDonnell Douglas MD-80, with one of them, still in use, 28 years and one month old.
Air Peace, with a fleet strength of 20 aircraft averages 19 years. It has 13 Boeing 737, with average age of 22.3 years and 2 Boeing 777, with average age of 18.1 years.
Medview, which was founded in 2007 has five planes, all Boeing models. They included a Boeing 777-200(5N-BVY), which is 16.7 years old, Boeing 767, 23.6 years old and three Boeing 737-400, with an average age of 20.9 years.
Azman Air Services, which took off in 2010 has four aircraft in operation, which notch an average age of 20.9 years. The airline has two Boeing 737-300 and two Boeing 737-500, averaging 20.9 years.
Max Air, which entered the Nigerian aviation business just this year, has six aircraft, with average age of 20.4 years. Apart from an Embraer ERJ-145, which is less than 10 years old, all the other aircraft in its fleet are 20 years and above.
Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest airline with a peerless safety record, has 11 aircraft in operation. Among them are nine Boeing 737, with an average age of 26.5 years and two De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 planes, aged 17.8 years. The airline, which was founded in 1959, is now being run by AMCON, along with Arik Air, following huge indebtedness to the banks.
In contrast to the ageing commercial airlines in Nigeria, Ethiopia Airlines, Africa’s largest has 104 aircraft, with an average fleet age of 5.8 years.
The oldest aircraft in the fleet of the airline based in Addis Ababa are six Boeing 767, which are 16.3 years old.
Kenya Airways has a fleet size of 39, with an average age of 6.8 years, while Royal Air Maroc, founded in 1957 has 51 aircraft in operation with an average age of 11.4 years.
South Africa Airways fleet has an average age of 11 years. Among them are 21 Airbus A320 and A330, with an average age 4.7 years.
Rwandair, with Pan-African ambition like Ethiopian, South African Airways and Royal Air Maroc, has 13 aircraft, with two more Airbus A330 on order.
The average age of its fleet, that comprised six Boeing 737, two Airbus A330 and two Bombardier CRJ-900 is 7.1 years. The oldest plane in its collection is one De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8, which is 11.5 years old, far much younger than many of the planes flying in Nigeria’s airspace.
A recent study by SGI Aviation, ordered by IATA said the average retirement age of a freighter aircraft is 32.5 years and for a passenger aircraft 25.1 years.
The study said aircraft retirements are generally governed by a number of principles: – More than half of the aircraft which are utilised for commercial operations are retired between the age of 20 and 30 years.