The use of newer aircraft by African and Nigerian carriers can save them over 37 per cent of direct operating costs, the Managing Director of Spring Fountain Limited, Mr Tunde Fagbemi, has said.
Besides saving huge costs of operations, such aircraft, Fagbemi noted, also save airlines fuel and maintenance costs.
Speaking in an interview in Lagos, the coordinator of African Aircraft Leasing Company said it was time airlines embraced the use of newer planes to run profitable operations.
He said airlines that use Boeing 737 – 300 aircraft spend about $1,176 on fueling per trip as opposed to airlines that fly Boeing Max 8; which cost about $1,542 per trip, translating to 24 per cent savings.
In the area of maintenance, he said airlines that fly Boeing 737-300 spent $1,361 to fix the airplane per trip as opposed to operators which fly Boeing Max 8 aircraft spending $1,037 , which is 24 per cent lower.
Fagbemi said it makes economic sense for airlines to utilise newer aircraft because older planes could result in airlines losing revenue because they could experience technical hitches, which in aviation par lance is called Aircraft on Ground ( AOG).
Fagbemi said: “High Fleet Age across the industry leads to high, unsustainable maintenance costs. Given high fleet age, there are pressing safety concerns.
“Airlines are too small to achieve any economies of scale in fleet renewal.
Leasing companies charge very high risk premium on their Nigerian and African Airline leases.
“These points all add up to a precarious aviation industry that is threatening to collapse.
“Rating Agency Concentration Limits for Aircraft coming to Nigeria means that Nigerian Airlines presently have access to only old aircrafts that have Limit of Validity issues and most of them are at the end of their Economic Useful Life.”