How to tell if your plane is an old plane

[TirEoghain]

Saw this article on new.com.au today, and thought it was such a poorly researched article..

How old is that aeroplane, really? | News.com.au

They are listing signs that the aircraft is old, and m any of them are incorrect.

They say that old planes have illuminated "No smoking" signs instead of "Turn off electronics" signs. Any new Boeing aircraft I flew on with the new Boeing Sky interior still has illuminated "No Smoking" signs.

They also say that old planes have ashtrays in the toilets. As far as I can see, all the new planes have them too, and I understand it's still a safety requirement.

I'm sure some of you will be able to point out many more flaws in the article.

 

[TomVexille]

Wow. Just wow. Who signs off on this drivel?

 

[RooFlyer]

Just plain old on-line space filler. And therefore a 'waste of space'.

BTW, I've never seen a 'turn off electronics' sign. Has anyone? (Mind you, it would be of more use than the 'no smoking' sign.)

 

[TirEoghain]

Just plain old on-line space filler. And therefore a 'waste of space'.

BTW, I've never seen a 'turn off electronics' sign. Has anyone? (Mind you, it would be of more use than the 'no smoking' sign.)

I've seen them on the VA new A330s, and on the SQ A380s.

 

[Mwenenzi]

And many old aircraft have had a cabin refit over the years.

There are ~25 year old aircraft is passenger service in the USA. Delta Air Lines fleet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As of November 2013, the average age of the Delta fleet is 17.1 years; excluding grounded aircraft and those operated by contract carriers. The oldest aircraft in the fleet is the McDonnell Douglas MD-88s averaging 23.2 years.[SUP][1][/SUP]

Classic Aircraft Still in Commercial Passenger Service | Thirty Thousand

 

[TomVexille]

Just plain old on-line space filler. And therefore a 'waste of space'.

BTW, I've never seen a 'turn off electronics' sign. Has anyone? (Mind you, it would be of more use than the 'no smoking' sign.)

SQ a380 has them I'm pretty sure

 

[eastwest101]

Lots of nonsense there, poorly researched and barely even "aussified" to be relevant to place of publication.

As others have said:
No Smoking signs still standard and not sure but still legall required or not?
Ashtrays in toilets same story.
Comments about B757s affecting the fleet age of all aircraft looks hilarious, and is obviously a flaw in editing out a sentance that may of previosly barely made sense.
N number regos on Australian aircraft?

Their only good point was the hint that there is nothing wrong with a well maintained older aircraft vs a neglected newish aircraft, I know that its taking it to being a bit silly but which of these two aircraft would you have felt comfortable getting into if they were both operating?


Or

 

[drewbles]

I've seen them on the VA new A330s, and on the SQ A380s.

VA also have them on the 777's.

Ash trays in toilets are 100% mandatory and a legal requirement. If someone is stupid enough to spark up a cancer stick in the lav's, they have to be able to put it out; the lav bin is *not* a suitable place (may a/c fires have started by people putting their butts in the bin and setting fire to the paper towels).

The electronic devices sign is 100% optional and depends on the operator as to if they want it or not (the VA planes that have it have a sticker 'no smoking' sign nearby on every overhead too, just not illuminated).

Average age = no guarantee of safety. A well maintained older bird is always going to be safer than a 3-4 year old poorly maintained bird.

Aircraft do re-use old interiors in existing aircraft. A broken seat is not a sign of poor maintenance of the plane itself.

I read this article the other day and just kept saying out loud 'no, no no!'. Another waste of space and a sign of how down the coughper "journalism" (and I use the term loosely) has gone.

 

[harvyk]

I found the article just a little amusing, picking out mistake after mistake, even for a US based article, the research was pretty poor...