The Age of Airline Fleets

A plane crash in India's Ahmedabad killed at least 270 people last week when an Air India flight headed for London struck a medical college dormitory. One person on board survived and 29 died on the ground. On Thursday, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner issued an emergency call shortly after take-off and is suspected to have experienced a dual engine failure. The plane's black box is still being examined in a search for more insights into the cause of the fatal accident that was the deadliest in India in almost three decades and also a major incident in worldwide aviation disasters in recent history.

The crash was the first of a Dreamliner in the plane's 16-year history. Worldwide, there are around 1,200 of the plane type in operation, 34 with Air India. The plane in question was 12 years old and its age as well as the age of Air India's fleet has featured in reporting on the plane crash. However, data from Planespotters.net shows that Air India's average fleet age of 8.1 years is relatively young in comparison to other major airlines around the world and that even an average age of 12 is not uncommon with big, global carriers.

For example, United Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France all had average fleet ages of more than 12 years - and even up to almost 16 years - in 2025. Ultra-low-cost carrier Ryanair even had an average fleet age of 16.2 years as of June of this year.