It's Logan's Run... they're all off to the scrappers at age 30.

tnair1974 wrote:

Good to see N309US escape the scrappers at least one more time.

Delta recently announced that a portion of their A320s (among other aircraft types) have been/will be retired this year. N326US, a 1992 bird that was initially stored at MCI as the pandemic spread, was ferried MSP-SBD a couple weeks ago in what may have been its final flight.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N326US

Otherwise, so far to my knowledge all DL A320s that have left storage have returned to service including a mix of old (including N309US) and newer models.

[snip]

As mentioned earlier in the Delta Narrow Body Thread, N326US is indeed one of ten DL A320s that are now retired. All ten are from the oldest of the two batches of DL A320s.

N317US
N322US
N323US
N324US
N325US
N326US
N327NW
N328NW
N329NW
N330NW

Turns out N325US and N326US are at least two retired A320s already at SBD where it might be assumed(?) they will be scrapped there (anyway, the seven DL A320s retired in 2017 were parted out at SBD). The other A320s retired this year are for now still stored at various stations like BHM and ATL.

A nice note is that a few of the oldest DL A320s are back in service including (as mentioned beforehand) N309US as well as N312US, N321US, N331NW among others. So a few more older DL A320s may reach the 30 year mark relatively soon...if they don't time out on heavy check hours/retire first.

SheikhDjibouti wrote:

(by all means do some research of your own)

So... not so many early-build MD-80s made it to 25 with their original operator either.
What was your point exactly?

Or we could simply accept that this is a great milestone for Airbus.

It’s a great milestone for Airbus. But barking up the MD-80 tree is the wrong aircraft to picking this fight with. AA, DL, SK, AZ, and others operated countless MD-80 examples from delivery through 25 years of service straight.

Again, not taking away from the A320. But save the braggadocio for 737 classic comparisons.

DeltaMD95 wrote:

SheikhDjibouti wrote:

So... not so many early-build MD-80s made it to 25 with their original operator either.

But barking up the MD-80 tree is the wrong aircraft to picking this fight with.
AA, DL, SK, AZ, and others operated countless MD-80 examples from delivery through 25 years of service straight.

Again, not taking away from the A320. But save the braggadocio for 737 classic comparisons.

I had some serious head-scratching there, not surprising since I wrote those words over 18 months ago!.

So, to add some context, it wasn't me who made the original comparison;
MIflyer12 wrote:

Want to compare A320 longevity to MD-80/83/88? I didn't think so.
Want to look at how many early-build 320s didn't make it to 25 with their original operators?

So...he claimed "early-build" A320s looked bad against MD-80s, and all that time ago I disputed this with the following examples.

Swissair (launch customer); MD-81 1980-1998
PSA MD-81 1981 - 2002
Austrian Airlines; MD-81 1980 - 1999; MD-82/83/87 1983 - 2005
AA - famous for flying something over 370 examples, and whilst a handful of them are setting service records, the majority are falling way short.

Fast forward 18mths, and here we are again, with more vague unsubstantiated claims.

DeltaMD95 wrote:

AA, DL, SK, AZ, and others operated countless MD-80 examples from delivery through 25 years of service straight.

Countless? Let's see shall we?

AA - I've already commented on AA
DL - yeah, to save myself grief I will agree they had some fantastically old birds when they were finally retired in June.
...... but none of them were "early builds" [Hey...I didn't set the rules]
SK - didn't order any "early-build" MD-80s, only getting their first in late 1985. A handful (four?) made it to 27 years, providing we ignore the periods they were leased out.
AZ - stored/scrapped/sold their earliest birds just as they came up for 25 years service. So unlucky!
I'm afraid I don't know who the "and others" are; that's your problem.

I guess I'll finish as I started;

SheikhDjibouti wrote:

So... not so many early-build MD-80s made it to 25 with their original operator either.

And it still rings true.

tnair1974 wrote:

As mentioned earlier in the Delta Narrow Body Thread, N326US is indeed one of ten DL A320s that are now retired. All ten are from the oldest of the two batches of DL A320s.

N317US
N322US
N323US
N324US
N325US
N326US
N327NW
N328NW
N329NW
N330NW

Turns out N325US and N326US are at least two retired A320s already at SBD where it might be assumed(?) they will be scrapped there (anyway, the seven DL A320s retired in 2017 were parted out at SBD). The other A320s retired this year are for now still stored at various stations like BHM and ATL.

A nice note is that a few of the oldest DL A320s are back in service including (as mentioned beforehand) N309US as well as N312US, N321US, N331NW among others. So a few more older DL A320s may reach the 30 year mark relatively soon...if they don't time out on heavy check hours/retire first.

Thanks for the update about Delta's A320 retirements.

As expected, the 18th A320 to celebrate its 30th birthday while in service is MSN 152 N312US (Delta), which had its first flight on 12 Dec 1990.

ssteve wrote:

It's Logan's Run... they're all off to the scrappers at age 30.

Indeed. Air Canada has retired several more A320s in the meantime and is now down to 21 according to planespotters.net, where the oldest active is C-FPWD, which had its first flight on 5 Jul 1991. Many of the recently retired A320s were first ferried to MCI and then to GWO, probably for part out.

The next A320s that could celebrate its 30th birthday while in service are D-AIQD (currently stored at LDE) and N319US in April next year.

Airbus A320 -211 154 C-FFWM Air Canada ferried 22dec20 MCI-GWO, for part-out & scrap ex F-WWDY
Airbus A320 -211 232 C-FDCA Air Canada ferried 22dec20 YYZ-MCI prior part-out & scrap ex F-WWIY

danipawa wrote:

Airbus A320 -211 154 C-FFWM Air Canada ferried 22dec20 MCI-GWO, for part-out & scrap ex F-WWDY
Airbus A320 -211 232 C-FDCA Air Canada ferried 22dec20 YYZ-MCI prior part-out & scrap ex F-WWIY

Remember when lifting things directly from other sites like Skyliner-Aviation.de to give your source.

As expected, N319US (MSN 208) is the 19th A320 to celebrate its 30th birthday in service.
I find it remarkable that Delta has brought back N325US, N326US and N329NW to service in the meantime. Let's see how long they will stay.

Based on what I can see on planespotters.net, the oldest active Air Canada A320 is now C-FGJI (19 years), and all of the 28 years or older A320s are parked at MCI, probably to be phased out. This means Air Canada is about to complete the retirement of its oldest A320s.

The next A320 up for its 30th birthday in service is N320US (MSN 213) next month.

a2b7 wrote:

As expected, N319US (MSN 208) is the 19th A320 to celebrate its 30th birthday in service.
I find it remarkable that Delta has brought back N325US, N326US and N329NW to service in the meantime. Let's see how long they will stay.

Based on what I can see on planespotters.net, the oldest active Air Canada A320 is now C-FGJI (19 years), and all of the 28 years or older A320s are parked at MCI, probably to be phased out. This means Air Canada is about to complete the retirement of its oldest A320s.

The next A320 up for its 30th birthday in service is N320US (MSN 213) next month.

Also, I've just checked, and 309US, line 118, is still in service, as mentioned months ago upthread.
From what I can tell by checking planespotters and flightaware, 309 is probably the second-oldest A320 (by calendar age, anyway) still flying!
The only older (by line number) aircraft still flying is ZS-GAR, line number 53.
The other birds between these haven't flown since the pandemic, even though listed as "active."

A bit OT but I see Longhauler in this almost zombie thread. What's up with him? Anybody knows? Not seen him in quite a while.

AA737-823 wrote:

a2b7 wrote:

As expected, N319US (MSN 208) is the 19th A320 to celebrate its 30th birthday in service.
I find it remarkable that Delta has brought back N325US, N326US and N329NW to service in the meantime. Let's see how long they will stay.

Based on what I can see on planespotters.net, the oldest active Air Canada A320 is now C-FGJI (19 years), and all of the 28 years or older A320s are parked at MCI, probably to be phased out. This means Air Canada is about to complete the retirement of its oldest A320s.

The next A320 up for its 30th birthday in service is N320US (MSN 213) next month.

Also, I've just checked, and 309US, line 118, is still in service, as mentioned months ago upthread.
From what I can tell by checking planespotters and flightaware, 309 is probably the second-oldest A320 (by calendar age, anyway) still flying!
The only older (by line number) aircraft still flying is ZS-GAR, line number 53.
The other birds between these haven't flown since the pandemic, even though listed as "active."

N309US should still be flying for awhile; at least another 1-2 years as it went through a more recent round of heavy maintenance and got the life extension program/package.
N325US, N326US, N329NW were supposed to have been retired in 2020 as they were due up for heavy maintenance, but were unretired for the short term at least until they run out of green time. At this point they are likely done later on this year, but with things being what they are, with a rapidly changing domestic demand environment its possible if there is room to get them through MRO they could end up getting a bit more of a reprive.

Aircellist wrote:

A bit OT but I see Longhauler in this almost zombie thread. What's up with him? Anybody knows? Not seen him in quite a while.

Just a wild guess, maybe he got tired of the politics and arguments in AC threads and walked away. Maybe he retired?

I know this is kinda off topic but where is Northwest's very first A320? Who has it now and what is the current tail number? That aircraft has got to be up there in age!

PennPal wrote:

Wow...30 years in service?? What a remarkable airplane, and what a workhorse!! I'm wondering...other than a DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, 707,727,737,747, 757, 767, BAe146, F100 and countless Russian models ...has there ever been an airliner besides the A320 that has reached that unthinkable age??

L1011. Orbital (Northrop/Grumman) is still flying theirs. Its a 1974 build making it 47 years old.

AirframeAS wrote:

I know this is kinda off topic but where is Northwest's very first A320? Who has it now and what is the current tail number? That aircraft has got to be up there in age!

The plane at this point is either scrapped or has been sitting on the ground for the past 13 years waiting to be scrapped. No one took after NW retired it in 2008.

Polot wrote:

AirframeAS wrote:

I know this is kinda off topic but where is Northwest's very first A320? Who has it now and what is the current tail number? That aircraft has got to be up there in age!

The plane at this point is either scrapped or has been sitting on the ground for the past 13 years waiting to be scrapped. No one took after NW retired it in 2008.

It was scrapped in 2008. The first 8 were all scrapped around that time. The oldest surviving Northwest A320 would be MSN 118 / N309US, delivered in October 1990, currently with Delta. AFAIK, with the exception of the 8 that were scrapped and one that eventually wound up in Iran, all Northwest A320s went to Delta, who also never passed them on to anyone else.

What is the oldest average 320 fleet in US service?

My back of envelope would be UA at this point...

acecrackshot wrote:

What is the oldest average 320 fleet in US service?

My back of envelope would be UA at this point...

As per airfleets.net, Delta at 25,3 years. United is 22,4 and American is 19,7.

VSMUT wrote:

acecrackshot wrote:

What is the oldest average 320 fleet in US service?

My back of envelope would be UA at this point...

As per airfleets.net, Delta at 25,3 years. United is 22,4 and American is 19,7.

Shukran!

VSMUT wrote:

Polot wrote:

AirframeAS wrote:

I know this is kinda off topic but where is Northwest's very first A320? Who has it now and what is the current tail number? That aircraft has got to be up there in age!

The plane at this point is either scrapped or has been sitting on the ground for the past 13 years waiting to be scrapped. No one took after NW retired it in 2008.

It was scrapped in 2008. The first 8 were all scrapped around that time. The oldest surviving Northwest A320 would be MSN 118 / N309US, delivered in October 1990, currently with Delta. AFAIK, with the exception of the 8 that were scrapped and one that eventually wound up in Iran, all Northwest A320s went to Delta, who also never passed them on to anyone else.

Dang! That aircraft is about 31 years old and still flying?? Wow!! I'm impressed.

AirframeAS wrote:

VSMUT wrote:

Polot wrote:

The plane at this point is either scrapped or has been sitting on the ground for the past 13 years waiting to be scrapped. No one took after NW retired it in 2008.

It was scrapped in 2008. The first 8 were all scrapped around that time. The oldest surviving Northwest A320 would be MSN 118 / N309US, delivered in October 1990, currently with Delta. AFAIK, with the exception of the 8 that were scrapped and one that eventually wound up in Iran, all Northwest A320s went to Delta, who also never passed them on to anyone else.

Dang! That aircraft is about 31 years old and still flying?? Wow!! I'm impressed.

Ain't it? To think that some newer A320ceo barely survived past its 9th years mark, this is absolutely mind blowing. Silk Air A320-233 MSN 3821 was only 9.4 years old when it was scrapped in 2017.

RoyalBrunei757 wrote:

AirframeAS wrote:

VSMUT wrote:

It was scrapped in 2008. The first 8 were all scrapped around that time. The oldest surviving Northwest A320 would be MSN 118 / N309US, delivered in October 1990, currently with Delta. AFAIK, with the exception of the 8 that were scrapped and one that eventually wound up in Iran, all Northwest A320s went to Delta, who also never passed them on to anyone else.

Dang! That aircraft is about 31 years old and still flying?? Wow!! I'm impressed.

Ain't it? To think that some newer A320ceo barely survived past its 9th years mark, this is absolutely mind blowing. Silk Air A320-233 MSN 3821 was only 9.4 years old when it was scrapped in 2017.

Depends a lot on the condition of the aircraft. I was on a fairly young Silk Air 737-800 last year, it definitely didn't look like that company takes very good care of its aircraft. High humidity and proximity to salt water doesn't help.

Looking at current data from planespotters.net ZS-GAR is currently oldest A320 commercially flying for Lift (new South African airline) at 32 years old. Delta is only other airline flying 30+ years A320s.
Jordan aviation and Air Canada has theirs stored/parked.

Built in 1990? Does it have lead glazing in the cockpit, tube screens and wooden chairs?

I first flew on an A320 with NW in August 1990 from DCA to MSP. It still had the new car smell. Bet it's beer cans now......

ssteve wrote:

It's Logan's Run... they're all off to the scrappers at age 30.

Renew…renew…RENEW

acecrackshot wrote:

What is the oldest average 320 fleet in US service?

My back of envelope would be UA at this point...

UA didn’t even get their first one until late 1993. N401UA.

ElroyJetson wrote:

I first flew on an A320 with NW in August 1990 from DCA to MSP. It still had the new car smell. Bet it's beer cans now......

My first A320 was NW as well, Feb 1992, flying an usual route from London to Sydney, NW LGW-MSP-LAX, UA LAX-SYD. LGW to MSP was a cranky old 747-151, LAX to SYD was a brand new 747-422. MSP to LAX was a factory fresh A320. The A320 (and 737-800) have become kind of vanilla with repetition but back then I was really impressed. Cabin interior was definitely a step up from everything that had gone before. I especially like the lit-up cubes on the side of the PSUs for row numbers, big overhead bins, soft lighting; and it flew like it was on rails. Who ever thought an A320 could be exotic? There was a time...

longhauler wrote:

I am old enough to remember when A320s started replacing 727-200s. The feeling among "experts" (like us) was that this "disposable French airplane would never last as long as a Boeing".

Air Canada's first A320 will hit 30 years old at the end of this year ... the 727-200s it replaced lasted roughly half that at Air Canada!

IIRC, the first A320s were slated to be delivered to Pan Am. Some went to AW with Pan Am interiors after being at Braniff.

UA444 wrote:

acecrackshot wrote:

What is the oldest average 320 fleet in US service?

My back of envelope would be UA at this point...

UA didn’t even get their first one until late 1993. N401UA.

I think the A320 was the first aircraft type at UA to get drop down LCD's as well. Pretty innovative for 1993.

AirframeAS wrote:

VSMUT wrote:

Polot wrote:

The plane at this point is either scrapped or has been sitting on the ground for the past 13 years waiting to be scrapped. No one took after NW retired it in 2008.

It was scrapped in 2008. The first 8 were all scrapped around that time. The oldest surviving Northwest A320 would be MSN 118 / N309US, delivered in October 1990, currently with Delta. AFAIK, with the exception of the 8 that were scrapped and one that eventually wound up in Iran, all Northwest A320s went to Delta, who also never passed them on to anyone else.

Dang! That aircraft is about 31 years old and still flying?? Wow!! I'm impressed.

I think I flew N309US on DEN-LGA before it was reconfigured in 2016 on DEN-LGA. The thing bounced around like a pinball all the way to NYC and the tray table in F was broken. It was in bad shape. Glad DL renovated it.

tnair1974 wrote:

tnair1974 wrote:

Good to see N309US escape the scrappers at least one more time.

Delta recently announced that a portion of their A320s (among other aircraft types) have been/will be retired this year. N326US, a 1992 bird that was initially stored at MCI as the pandemic spread, was ferried MSP-SBD a couple weeks ago in what may have been its final flight.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N326US

Otherwise, so far to my knowledge all DL A320s that have left storage have returned to service including a mix of old (including N309US) and newer models.

[snip]

As mentioned earlier in the Delta Narrow Body Thread, N326US is indeed one of ten DL A320s that are now retired. All ten are from the oldest of the two batches of DL A320s.

N317US
N322US
N323US
N324US
N325US
N326US
N327NW
N328NW
N329NW
N330NW

Turns out N325US and N326US are at least two retired A320s already at SBD where it might be assumed(?) they will be scrapped there (anyway, the seven DL A320s retired in 2017 were parted out at SBD). The other A320s retired this year are for now still stored at various stations like BHM and ATL.

A nice note is that a few of the oldest DL A320s are back in service including (as mentioned beforehand) N309US as well as N312US, N321US, N331NW among others. So a few more older DL A320s may reach the 30 year mark relatively soon...if they don't time out on heavy check hours/retire first.

I would think all of the older DL A320s all received heavy checks as part of their new interior project though, right? They all have new PSUs, seats, overhead bins, sidewalls and AVOD now. And I for one think they fly a bit more sturdy with less noise as well.

It's interesting the oldest DL A320 is from 1990, yet all the M88s are gone and delivered in the same time frame. The oldest M88 at DL was from 1987 making it only 3 years older than the oldest 320 still in service at DL.

IMHO, I think that says a lot about NW's A320 best practices for maintenance. I'm still amazed DL was able to revamp some of these older frames which were in really bad shape interior-wise. Recall at first there was a "Part 1" redux of the A320 at DL with getting new seats and bins and then a "Part 2" where they rapidly added AVOD to the new seats & matched the A319 rehabilitation program.

IIRC: The first reconfigured DL A319 I flew on was in July 2016 on DEN-SLC and the first A320 with AVOD was in May 2017 on DEN-LGA.

N649DL wrote:

It's interesting the oldest DL A320 is from 1990, yet all the M88s are gone and delivered in the same time frame. The oldest M88 at DL was from 1987 making it only 3 years older than the oldest 320 still in service at DL.

The MD-88 was retired because a) it was more fuel inefficient, b) OEM had discontinued support, thus maintenance costs were increasing and c) DL could not grow at ATL unless it was able to upgauge seats. That said, DL was initially planning to keep the MD-88 around through the end of this decade (40 years) and I bet they would’ve had it not been for the deal they received on late model 321 (of course, COVID could’ve changed this as well).

The MD-90 would still be around if not for swelling maintenance costs.

I'm still amazed DL was able to revamp some of these older frames which were in really bad shape interior-wise. Recall at first there was a "Part 1" redux of the A320 at DL with getting new seats and bins and then a "Part 2" where they rapidly added AVOD to the new seats & matched the A319 rehabilitation program. .

Not to be a snot, but why is it amazing? They’re not the first airline to put brand new interiors in older aircraft — NW replaced vintage DC-9 interiors on roughly 150 aircraft into modern examples, on par with the 320 at the time. It’s expensive so historically most airlines will only lightly refresh or update interiors.

NW planned on ordering kits to replace the interiors of its aircraft, the merger slowed the process. Rumors at the time were that NW would be installing AVOD across its mainline fleet, including the E75/CR7 but excluding the CRJ, 5500 series 757 and DC-9 (which were expected to be replaced with the E90).

First A320 I've flown on was a B6 one in 2007, N529JB, which is still flying for them and is 19.9 years old. The oldest A320 I've flown on is N320US with DL which is 30.2 years old.

WidebodyPTV wrote:

N649DL wrote:

It's interesting the oldest DL A320 is from 1990, yet all the M88s are gone and delivered in the same time frame. The oldest M88 at DL was from 1987 making it only 3 years older than the oldest 320 still in service at DL.

The MD-88 was retired because a) it was more fuel inefficient, b) OEM had discontinued support, thus maintenance costs were increasing and c) DL could not grow at ATL unless it was able to upgauge seats. That said, DL was initially planning to keep the MD-88 around through the end of this decade (40 years) and I bet they would’ve had it not been for the deal they received on late model 321 (of course, COVID could’ve changed this as well).

The MD-90 would still be around if not for swelling maintenance costs.

I'm still amazed DL was able to revamp some of these older frames which were in really bad shape interior-wise. Recall at first there was a "Part 1" redux of the A320 at DL with getting new seats and bins and then a "Part 2" where they rapidly added AVOD to the new seats & matched the A319 rehabilitation program. .

Not to be a snot, but why is it amazing? They’re not the first airline to put brand new interiors in older aircraft — NW replaced vintage DC-9 interiors on roughly 150 aircraft into modern examples, on par with the 320 at the time. It’s expensive so historically most airlines will only lightly refresh or update interiors.

NW planned on ordering kits to replace the interiors of its aircraft, the merger slowed the process. Rumors at the time were that NW would be installing AVOD across its mainline fleet, including the E75/CR7 but excluding the CRJ, 5500 series 757 and DC-9 (which were expected to be replaced with the E90).

You're being a contrarian, which is a form of being a snot. It is amazing being the A320s from an interior perspective looked liked garbage before DL took them over and made renovations to the fleet. The NW DC-9 rehab program was not even close to being on the same level to what DL did for the A319 and A320.

N649DL wrote:

You're being a contrarian, which is a form of being a snot. It is amazing being the A320s from an interior perspective looked liked garbage before DL took them over and made renovations to the fleet. The NW DC-9 rehab program was not even close to being on the same level to what DL did for the A319 and A320.

You're clearly not aware of the scope of NW's DC-9 project. NW installed completely brand new, 717-style interiors in nearly 200 aircraft (I underestimated earlier). Those aircraft collectively averaged then-25yo, and previously had hodgepodge layouts and interiors (as they came from multiple operators) - some way more vintage than others. Nothing from the original interiors were retained.

The ex-NW A319/A320 hardly had "garbage" interiors. They had 84 A319 and later 320 that were barely 10yo when their interiors were replaced. Like the D95, they looked pretty good -- comparable to most of AA, UA and WN's fleet -- when DL replaced the seat coverings. Yes, the 42 older, original '90s A320 were in need of a refresh, but their cabins were in far better shape than the DC-9 were pre-renovation.

VSMUT wrote:

acecrackshot wrote:

What is the oldest average 320 fleet in US service?

My back of envelope would be UA at this point...

As per airfleets.net, Delta at 25,3 years. United is 22,4 and American is 19,7.

How many are of higher hours than the B6 A320 original fleet? That fleet may end up setting records for hours on narrow body mainline aircraft.

N320US (MSN 213) was the 20th A320 to celebrate its 30th birthday in service on 21 May 2021.
Interestingly, N317US (MSN 197) returned to service last month, so it became the 21st. I didn't expect Delta to bring back even more A320s from retirement.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

VSMUT wrote:

acecrackshot wrote:

What is the oldest average 320 fleet in US service?

My back of envelope would be UA at this point...

As per airfleets.net, Delta at 25,3 years. United is 22,4 and American is 19,7.

How many are of higher hours than the B6 A320 original fleet? That fleet may end up setting records for hours on narrow body mainline aircraft.

I just checked the FAA SDR info ( https://av-info.faa.gov/sdrx/Query.aspx ) for a couple of the oldest B6 A320s, which had between 75,000 and 80,000 flight hours, which is a lot considering they are only 21 years old. Indeed, they may become the A320 FH fleet leaders in a few years. As far as I am aware of, the current A320 fleet leader was retired with 90,746 FH (see post #107), but Delta's oldest A320s in service, N309US and N312US, may take over soon, because they both have above 89,000 FH.

European Air Charter A320 fleet is of 1991 vintage, the countdown is ticking... AFAIK, first one will be LZ-LAE, ff 11OCT91, msn 259. Fun fact, the aircraft was stored from OCT 2009 to MAR 2017, I guess one of the oldest A320 but with the lowest hours and cycles...

a2b7 wrote:

Based on what I can see on planespotters.net, the oldest active Air Canada A320 is now C-FGJI (19 years), and all of the 28 years or older A320s are parked at MCI, probably to be phased out. This means Air Canada is about to complete the retirement of its oldest A320s.

Air Canada has brought back a few of the older 320s, including Canadian's last delivery, C-FNVV/Fin 416. They were stored in MCI. GWO arrivals are generally final flights for the airframe.

billsalton92 wrote:

a2b7 wrote:

Based on what I can see on planespotters.net, the oldest active Air Canada A320 is now C-FGJI (19 years), and all of the 28 years or older A320s are parked at MCI, probably to be phased out. This means Air Canada is about to complete the retirement of its oldest A320s.

Air Canada has brought back a few of the older 320s, including Canadian's last delivery, C-FNVV/Fin 416. They were stored in MCI. GWO arrivals are generally final flights for the airframe.

Interesting, I didn't expect any of those stored at MCI to return to service.

N649DL wrote:

I would think all of the older DL A320s all received heavy checks as part of their new interior project though, right? They all have new PSUs, seats, overhead bins, sidewalls and AVOD now. And I for one think they fly a bit more sturdy with less noise as well.

I flew on N325US the other day PWM-ATL and it looked great. The PSU's have nice blue LED lighting, the overhead bins are very accommodating, and seats are comfortable. It did seem less noisy than the AA A320 (ex-US) I flew a few weeks before that, even though I was in First on AA and only had exit row on DL. I had chalked that up to IAE vs CFM, but maybe the new sidewalls were really the factor there?

dennypayne wrote:

N649DL wrote:

I would think all of the older DL A320s all received heavy checks as part of their new interior project though, right? They all have new PSUs, seats, overhead bins, sidewalls and AVOD now. And I for one think they fly a bit more sturdy with less noise as well.

I flew on N325US the other day PWM-ATL and it looked great. The PSU's have nice blue LED lighting, the overhead bins are very accommodating, and seats are comfortable. It did seem less noisy than the AA A320 (ex-US) I flew a few weeks before that, even though I was in First on AA and only had exit row on DL. I had chalked that up to IAE vs CFM, but maybe the new sidewalls were really the factor there?

Wow: I didn't know DL even flew a A320 on PWM-ATL. It could be because of the sidewalls but probably also structural things within the wings but I have no idea. You have to figure to keep nearly 30+ year A320s flying there needs to be heavy MX done all around the plane.

dennypayne wrote:

It did seem less noisy than the AA A320 (ex-US) I flew a few weeks before that, even though I was in First on AA and only had exit row on DL. I had chalked that up to IAE vs CFM, but maybe the new sidewalls were really the factor there?

The effect of the new sidewalls is very small, even so small that you would hardly hear the difference in a direct A-B comparison. No way you could ever hear a difference between 2 different aircraft on 2 different flights on 2 different days.

But there is in fact a difference between the front, mid and aft cabin, that you might have noticed. The mid cabin usually is quieter the far up front.


Gruß, masi1157

masi1157 wrote:

dennypayne wrote:

It did seem less noisy than the AA A320 (ex-US) I flew a few weeks before that, even though I was in First on AA and only had exit row on DL. I had chalked that up to IAE vs CFM, but maybe the new sidewalls were really the factor there?

The effect of the new sidewalls is very small, even so small that you would hardly hear the difference in a direct A-B comparison. No way you could ever hear a difference between 2 different aircraft on 2 different flights on 2 different days.

But there is in fact a difference between the front, mid and aft cabin, that you might have noticed. The mid cabin usually is quieter the far up front.

Gruß, masi1157

You mean between two different aircraft of a same generation? Perhaps. But the difference between the NEO and CEO is incredible.

No, I ment the small difference that the sidewalls make, of course ceteris paribus.

But that is off topic here.


Gruß, masi1157

johnconquest wrote:

First A320 I've flown on was a B6 one in 2007, N529JB, which is still flying for them and is 19.9 years old. The oldest A320 I've flown on is N320US with DL which is 30.2 years old.

While not anywhere close to oldest, I would wonder how it ranks above hours, and if anyone racks up hours on narrow body planes faster than JetBlue. Some could be racing against timing out and age 30. I do expect some JetBlue A320s to pass 100,000 hours.

LATAM's oldest A320 (CC-BLA, ex CC-CQC and LV-BRA) is turning 21 years today, though it was parked for a few months following LATAM Argentina's demise last year).

aemoreira1981 wrote:

johnconquest wrote:

First A320 I've flown on was a B6 one in 2007, N529JB, which is still flying for them and is 19.9 years old. The oldest A320 I've flown on is N320US with DL which is 30.2 years old.

While not anywhere close to oldest, I would wonder how it ranks above hours, and if anyone racks up hours on narrow body planes faster than JetBlue. Some could be racing against timing out and age 30. I do expect some JetBlue A320s to pass 100,000 hours.

As of May it had roughly 75000 hours and 27000 cycles, according to an SDR report.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

While not anywhere close to oldest, I would wonder how it ranks above hours, and if anyone racks up hours on narrow body planes faster than JetBlue. Some could be racing against timing out and age 30. I do expect some JetBlue A320s to pass 100,000 hours.

Some oldest JetBlue a320s are approaching 80,000 hours, while being barely 21 years old. If JetBlue were to keep same usage till thirty, they would run out of hours.

AA737-823 wrote:

a2b7 wrote:

As expected, N319US (MSN 208) is the 19th A320 to celebrate its 30th birthday in service.
I find it remarkable that Delta has brought back N325US, N326US and N329NW to service in the meantime. Let's see how long they will stay.

Based on what I can see on planespotters.net, the oldest active Air Canada A320 is now C-FGJI (19 years), and all of the 28 years or older A320s are parked at MCI, probably to be phased out. This means Air Canada is about to complete the retirement of its oldest A320s.

The next A320 up for its 30th birthday in service is N320US (MSN 213) next month.

Also, I've just checked, and 309US, line 118, is still in service, as mentioned months ago upthread.
From what I can tell by checking planespotters and flightaware, 309 is probably the second-oldest A320 (by calendar age, anyway) still flying!
The only older (by line number) aircraft still flying is ZS-GAR, line number 53.
The other birds between these haven't flown since the pandemic, even though listed as "active."

Line 53 was one of the first A320s that HP got that were ordered by PA, taken over by BN before being picked up by HP. The first A320 I flew on was LN 55 (N624AW). Those early build A320s were a pain to dispatch compared to the newest models back in the early to mid 2000s, especially out of LAS.

Those early HP A320’s were distinguishable because the seat belt lights in the PSU’s were green, not grey as they were in the other 1990’s era 320’s. I had flown on one in the early 1990’s from LAS to CMH, and then got one in 2013 pre merger on US from DTW to PHX.

aemoreira1981 wrote:

johnconquest wrote:

First A320 I've flown on was a B6 one in 2007, N529JB, which is still flying for them and is 19.9 years old. The oldest A320 I've flown on is N320US with DL which is 30.2 years old.

While not anywhere close to oldest, I would wonder how it ranks above hours, and if anyone racks up hours on narrow body planes faster than JetBlue. Some could be racing against timing out and age 30. I do expect some JetBlue A320s to pass 100,000 hours.

I suspect some of the LCCs A320 families are racking up the hours. Easyjets are used pretty intensively but they do have more down time in the winter months. I know one thing for certain, when i started on config on the A320 family in 1994 that we would get to where in terms of the early build frames I'm not sure i would have believed you. Those early frames were effectively genesis and as such any potential issues would be found in these to the extent they certainly kept R&D busy. I retired when the oldest frames were 20 years of age and i remember being impressed how many very early frames were still giving excellent service.