An aircraft with a landing gear that had malfunctioned repeatedly, a weather radar that conks off mid-air and an airconditioning that does not work properly takes to the skies every day from Chennai. No, this is not a fitness sortie of a vintage plane, but a daily Air India flight (AI 263) that ferries passengers on the Chennai-BengaluruThiruvananthapuram-Male sector.
Although most airlines have discontinued this version of A320s and moved to newer builds, Air India flies this 26-year-old aircraft, which had three tyre bursts in the last one year. The plane causes regular delays resulting out of technical snags. Consequently, patronage of the Air India service along this popular route has also taken a hit.
As per the norms set by Airbus, the plane's manufacturer, an aircraft has to be either grounded or retrofitted after 60,000 flight hours or 25 years. Airlines often do not keep a plane for such a long time because of escalating maintenance cost. The average age of an aircraft used by airlines is less than seven years. Air India pilots say there are nine such A320 aircraft in service, but this could not be verified.
11/08/15 Times of India
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Although most airlines have discontinued this version of A320s and moved to newer builds, Air India flies this 26-year-old aircraft, which had three tyre bursts in the last one year. The plane causes regular delays resulting out of technical snags. Consequently, patronage of the Air India service along this popular route has also taken a hit.
As per the norms set by Airbus, the plane's manufacturer, an aircraft has to be either grounded or retrofitted after 60,000 flight hours or 25 years. Airlines often do not keep a plane for such a long time because of escalating maintenance cost. The average age of an aircraft used by airlines is less than seven years. Air India pilots say there are nine such A320 aircraft in service, but this could not be verified.
11/08/15 Times of India
