Having one of the world’s youngest fleets is often a pretty distinctive selling point for airlines, significantly as the aviation industry banks harder towards net zero carbon emissions. A new fleet typically implies more fuel-efficient, new-generation aircraft with the latest technology and designs that promise to amaze every passenger.
As different airlines order and receive new aircraft types every year, the list of carriers housing the world’s youngest fleets constantly changes. And this year’s list has shown notable changes, so here are the top five youngest airline fleets for 2023!
5 Uganda Airlines
Having been crowned with the youngest fleet in 2022 for the second consecutive year, it’s certainly a surprise to see Uganda Airlines slipping all the way to fifth place this year. When comparing this and last year’s fleet, nothing has changed, as the African carrier still has only six aircraft.
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Photo: Airbus
These include four Bombardier CRJ900s and a couple of Airbus A330-800neos. Altogether, the six aircraft have an average fleet age of 3.01 years. And while Uganda Airlines has fallen behind globally, it still holds its crown for the youngest aircraft fleet in Africa for 2023.
4 SKY Airline
Another surprising rank change comes from the second-largest Chilean carrier SKY Airline, which previously held second place in 2022. But unlike Uganda Airlines, SKY Airline’s rank dropped despite having a difference between last year’s and this year’s fleet.
The airline now houses 28 aircraft with an average fleet age of 2.94 and holds the crown for having the youngest fleet in South America. Perhaps SKY Airline might rise through the ranks for future lists after taking deliveries of the 10 Airbus A321XLRs on order.
Photo: Matheus Obst | Shutterstock
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3 Lynx Air
A new contender to this year’s list was Canadian ultra-low-cost carrier Lynx Air, which overtook Flair Airlines, Frontier Airlines, VivaAerobus, and Volaris to be crowned for having the youngest fleet in North America. With only six Boeing 737 MAX 8s in its fleet, Lynx Air shows off an average fleet age of 2.90 years old.
The Canadian carrier could remain on the list for next year’s youngest fleet as it will receive several more Boeing 737 MAX 8s powered by CFM LEAP-1B engines between this year and 2024, further reducing the average fleet age for the airline.
Photo: Edmonton International Airport
2 flyadeal
From being ranked fifth last year, Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flyadeal has risen to clinch second place this year. When comparing a fleet difference, flyadeal has grown from having 16 aircraft last year to housing 27 aircraft this year.
Such a significant difference came as the budget carrier added nine new Airbus A320neos during the past year to meet increasing demand, decreasing its average fleet age from the previous 2.76 years to just 2.56 years.
Photo: Airbus
1 Starlux Airlines
And crowned for having the youngest fleet worldwide is none other than Taiwanese carrier Starlux Airlines. With 19 aircraft in its narrowbody and widebody fleet mix, such as 13 Airbus A321neos, Airbus A330neos, and Airbus A350-900s, the airline’s average fleet age is only 1.22 years old.
The oldest aircraft in the fleet is an Airbus A321neo, aged at just 3.3 years old. On the other hand, the youngest of the fleet is an Airbus A350-900, aged only 0.2 years old, and was delivered to Starlux Airlines earlier this month on January 9th.
Photo: Eurospot
There were honorable mentions that didn’t make it to the top five but ranked the highest for having the region’s youngest fleet. These include PLAY Airlines in Europe, with an average fleet age of 3.17 years old for eight Airbus aircraft. And over in Oceania, Fiji Airways took the podium with an average age of 6.14 years across 19 aircraft.
Concerning airlines with more than 100 aircraft in their fleet, India’s giant low-cost carrier IndiGo received the crown for having an average age of 3.57 years across 300 aircraft. Following behind with a significant margin was Wizz Air, with 4.31 years spread across more than 165 aircraft sourced from the Airbus A320 family.
What did you think of the top five winners for the world’s youngest airline fleet? Tell us in the comments below.
Source: simpleflying.com
