Few older jets apt to take off again
WASHINGTON -- Most of the 2,000 jets parked at a handful of desert facilities in New Mexico, California, and Arizona have no chance of flying, especially with high fuel prices demanding efficiency, experts say.
The conclusion departs from the historic practice of remarketing a range of older passenger planes. It is also a less obvious illustration of how energy costs, fierce competition, and the airlines' financial troubles are reshaping the industry.
''Old planes continue to sit there," said John Walsh, a Maryland consultant.
Airlines, leasing companies, and investors would in the past park aircraft during a downturn and fly them when business rebounded. Or when they parted with a reliable jetliner, the plane would be refurbished and sold.
Commercial airliners are mostly made of aluminum and the dry climate wards off corrosion.
In the first years after the 2001 terrorist attacks, airlines brought back some planes, and other newer models that were parked due to bankruptcies at US Airways Group Inc. and other domestic airlines were sold overseas.
But financial pressures, an industry shift toward the low-cost business model, with more precise routing, and oil topping $70 per barrel have made older workhorse planes less desirable.
''Pretty much anything that's worth an airline flying is out there flying," Boeing spokeswoman Vicki Ray said.
Airlines want planes that are not only fuel-stingy, but need fewer people to operate and require less maintenance.
''In our judgment, given fuel prices and production of new aircraft, we feel that at best 350 aircraft may find new homes if demand remains strong," Henry Hubschman, chief executive of General Electric Co. Commercial Aviation Services unit, told industry leaders recently. GE is not one of the companies that own the parked planes. Most are owned by airlines, leasing companies, banks, and other institutions who may never fully recoup their investments.
Many older planes can be ready on short notice. ''They're well maintained and can fly forever," said Paul Worthington, director of marketing for Evergreen Air Center, a storage and maintenance facility in Arizona.
But high operating expenses are keeping them grounded. Overcapacity has also diminished value. Some are idled hours before they are due for expensive scheduled maintenance.
Unwanted planes today have an average age of 18 to 25 years and have three or four engines. Their value run into the millions. Engines are generally worth more than the aircraft.
In a growing number of cases, those desert aircraft owners cannot turn away deals that Boeing Co. or its European rival Airbus offer for new planes, Worthington and others said.
New ones are more efficient and guarantee a honeymoon from big maintenance. A new Boeing 737-800 costs about $70 million. The lowest price for the yet-to-fly 787 Dreamliner -- promoted as uniquely fuel-efficient -- is under $140 million, Boeing figures show.
