2 replies to this topic

[TommyBoy84]

To simulate the need for more hours in the maintenence hanger as aircraft age, perhaps aircraft should have gradually decreasing flight hours available as they get older?

For example, a brand new plane has 22 hours per day available. I highly doubt a 15 year old plane would even be able to fly 22 hours a day. Maybe for every 2 years, a plane loses 1 hour of available daily flight time. So when the plane is 10 years old, it can only fly 17 hours per day.

Speaking of hours....how realistic is the number of hours aircraft have available on AE? It wasn't long ago I read an advertisement or an article with a real-world airline bragging about it's planes being in the air an average of 9 hours per day. How many hours per day do real life planes average in the air?

[BritAbroad]

Regarding your latter comment - that depends on the airline and its model.
The likes of Ryanair and other "pretend" airlines have hardly any downtime. 20 minute turnarounds see to that, and full schedules to drain every penny out of their crews and fleet.

I also heard somewhere that one airfreight company (possibly DHL/TNT?) uses BAe146QCs, operating freight and postal services through the night, and converting them to a passenger configuration during the day to be leased to airlines.


I do like the idea of making age more relevant to an aircraft's hours. However, what happens as your aircraft gets older and has more routes assigned than it can handle? Automatic cancellation?

[flightsimer]

sure they can. age has nothing to do with how long its in the air. If the plan is maintained like its suppose to it will last forever until it hits it life useage in hours at which after that point it needs to be retired.

Its all about the airline model like Brit said.