Ryanair 732 to go quicker than expected

[Runway 31]

Noted on RTE Online

Ryanair is to bring forward the retirement of up to nine Boeing 737-200 aircraft after discovering scratches to the outer skin of one of the planes.

The airline was due to retire 21 of these aircraft, the first seven this winter, as it took delivery of 15 new Boeing 737-800s over the next six months.

It now says it may increase the number of retirements this winter to nine.

Ryanair says the scratches found on one of the planes indicated that an inappropriate procedure may have been undertaken during the aircraft's last full repainting by FLS Aerospace in the UK.

Another 10 737-200s also passed through this process and the airline is working with Boeing and the Irish Aviation Authority to examine these planes. Ryanair says five of the 11 planes appear to have been affected by scratch marks, with two unaffected. The other four are still being looked at.

The airline has decided that it would not be economically viable to carry out repairs on the affected planes as they were to be retired. To cover for the possible early retirements, Ryanair is leasing five Boeings, and says its capacity and schedules will not be affected.

But the company will take an exceptional charge of €5m as a result for the year to the end of March 2004.

Runway 31

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

Its a shame that FR are bringing forward the retirement of the 737-200's.

http://airlines.afriqonline.com/images/plane865.jpg

BAe 146-100

[bagpuss lives]

And there was me thinking the RYR lot couldn't go any faster ;) :D

[timmcat]

Thought this thread was about turnround....

[bagpuss lives]

And I thought it was about approach / taxi speeds :D

[jmc-man]

I believe RYR are out in the industry looking for short term wet leases to cover elements of the flying program that may suffer from the early retirement. Expect to see a few "white tailed" 737's around in November and December.

[kepor]

Believe a stanley knife may have been behind the scratches....

[My names Turkish]

From todays Irish Times:

Ryanair faces €5m bill after discovering scratched aircraft:

Ryanair is facing a bill of more than €5 million after discovering that up to nine of its aircraft may have become scratched and cracked following overhaul work in the mid-1990s, writes Emmet Oliver.The airline said last night the damage had no safety implications. However, because of the cost of repairing the aircraft it was withdrawing them from service.

The airline will retire nine Boeing 737s earlier than originally planned and lease five new aircraft to replace them. The other aircraft will be replaced when the airline takes delivery of a new fleet of 737s. These aircraft, 15 in total, were ordered before the recent discovery.

In a statement, the airline said it became aware of scratches to the outer surface of one Boeing 737-200 aircraft some months ago and was concerned that an "inappropriate procedure" might have caused the problem.

The airline claimed the inappropriate procedure might have occurred during a full repainting of the aircraft about nine years ago by FLS Aerospace in Britain.

Together with experts from Boeing, Ryanair said it discovered this aircraft and 10 others were in the same FLS Aerospace paint shop during 1994 and 1995.

Based on a Boeing inspection programme, Ryanair claims five 737s bear "scratch marks", four others are still being inspected, while two appear undamaged.

This account was supported by a Boeing spokeswoman, who said Ryanair had tackled the issue proactively.

She said the original damage would have involved marks or scratches, but some of these developed into cracks. She said if the cracks were left unattended they might have had a safety implication.

She said sharp tools should never be used on the skin of aircraft and this was the likely cause.

However, FLS Aerospace said last night it had not been established whether it was to blame for the damage.

"FLS Aerospace believes in the highest standards of quality and safety in maintenance and is working with the aircraft manufacturer, as would be normal industry practice, to understand the nature and cause of this problem.

" Conclusions cannot be drawn at this stage as to the cause of the problem and whether it indeed relates to FLS Aerospace," the company said.

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

I believe RYR are out in the industry looking for short term wet leases to cover elements of the flying program that may suffer from the early retirement. Expect to see a few "white tailed" 737's around in November and December.

Will these be 737-800's?

BAe 146-100

[eng123]

outofsynch,

You couldn't be more wrong,there were no cracks in either the spar or the keel beam.

kepor is an awful lot closer to the truth.

Bae 146,

2 -800's,2 -300's and [boo-hiss] 1 -200.

[ecj]

Quieter aircraft can only be a good thing for all concerned

[Buster the Bear]

To cover for the possible earlier retirement of these aircraft pending the delivery of 15 new 737-800's over the next six months, Ryanair have arranged for the short term lease in of 2 x Boeing 737-800's, 2 x Boeing 737-300's, and 1 x 737-200. Any further retirements will be replaced by it's new 737-800 deliveries.

There will be no shortage of seat capacity or disruption to the schedule, given these lease-ins and the delivery of the new 737-800 series aircraft.

The cost of these lease-ins over the coming 3 to 5 months will be partially offset by cost savings from the earlier retirement of between 7 to 9 of the older 737-200's and the additional revenues generated by the larger aircraft leased in. Accordingly the net effect of the above program will result in a one time exceptional charge of EUR5 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004.

[akerosid]

Presumably all 732 crews affected will be converted (at FR's expense) to the 738 as and when new aircraft are delivered?

[airbourne]

A couple of things struck me there. This does not sound very O'Leary. Retiring a/c with scratches. I was always led to believe that he would run those a/c into the ground. Scratches seems like a minor problem to me, now I could be wrong. Also O'Leary swore that he wouldnt let the 738s into DUB en mass becasue of the landing fees of Aer Rianta. Looks like he has no choice now.

When all of the 732s are gone, what happen to the STN - LDY route, that runways to short to handle a 738.

On a nostalgia front, does anyone know which 732 are been retired. Are going to the desert or off to some dodgy African operater?

[hz-hm1a]

it makes sense to retire 732's in europe,after all ,they arent practical as they're noisy,and are very uneconomical compared to the newer models.If it makes business sense for this most efficient of operators,then why not do it?

but i agree they're beautiful

[hobie]

"I was always led to believe that he would run those a/c into the ground"

AB .... hope that was a Freudian slip !!!!

cheers .... hobie

[Jambo Buana]

As a JAR approved maintenance organisation and also a money minded one, the retirement of the -200's is purely about money. It is going to cost too much to fix them thanks to a bloke in FLS scratching the over spray off with a stanley knife!

By the way, I hope he didn't have anything to do with painting BA 747's which also under went heavy maintenance in FLS!

Now there's a thought.

[st patrick]

Airbourne,

Judging by the state of some of the aircraft I walked past today, the only place they will be going is round the back of the fire station to join the ex-RYR HS-748. Honestly, some of the -200s seem to be more patches than panels !

[1togo]

I for one will be sorry to see them go. They have been around a long time and yes they do look like they need to go to the retirement home but I wonder if the new generation will look as good in twenty plus years!

[AlphaCharlie]

W.r.t the Derry route, Ryanair are saying to the airport authority hurry up and extend the runway or we will have to fly elsewhere (cos its too short for the 737-800s).

[jumpseater]

Jambo, if these scratches have occurred on several airframes, it could indicate that this was a standard practise/technique used by an individual or group.

It is quite likely that the possibility that this has happened to other aircraft going through those paint shops is/has already been considered and I hope acted on.

[Jambo Buana]

If it is ever proved that this really was the reason for the crack found on one of the -200's then you are absolutely right, they will have done the same to other a/c too; including perhaps some of BA's big a/c which I know were also Heavy maintained at FLS. Whether that ever comes to light your guess is as good as mine. Re-skinning a few 747's might just be too expensive for a sensitive subject like this coming out of the hangar.

[Kwasi_Mensa]

Guess RYR management would hate this kind of publicity...

http://www.aloha.net/~icarus/243a.jpg

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

Kwasi_Mensa, was that the Aloha 737-200 incident?

The aircraft had an explosive decompression due to metal fatigue in upper cabin area. The crew was able to execute a successful emergency landing with a significant portion of the upper fuselage missing. One of the five crew members was killed.

BAe 146-100

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

Yes, it is the Aloha 737-200 incident.

[A4]

I'm sure the residents around STN won't be sad to see them go. They really are VERY noisy :E

[Kwasi_Mensa]

BAe 146-100, yes, it was the Aloha 243 incident (http://aviation-safety.net/database/1988/880428-0.htm)

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

Thanks for confirming that, its amazing that the Crew managed to land the aircraft.

BAe 146-100

[Max Angle]

The quicker they go the quicker I will be able to get a decent nights sleep at the airport hotel. Scrap the lot now please.

[xyz_pilot]

Nosiy no way

They all have a "stage III" kit.

Its to keep this sort of "low nose" a/c that the eu and usa were all most in an all out trade war.

Makes you think!!

[mrbungle]

Didn't Ryan-Air already retire a -200 for dodgy paint work a couple of years ago ??

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

I will miss seeing them at Manchester :(.

BAe 146-100

[YouNeverStopLearning]

Hushkitted? No, the majority of Rynoair's 737-200 are not hushkitted. Most of those that are hushkitted can't often get above FL300 in summer when the temp's high at altitude and the loads high; I know, I've tried in the past!
You only have to listen to them trying to get off on R21 at PIK when they have to due to x-winds - it's a very noisy affair.

Oh! so this topic isn't about exceeding 250knots in class G airspace then?

[IanH]

I was at Stansted most of the day today and I live near to Prestwick and I havent seen any of the logojet B737-200's since this report.

Ian H

[Mindthegap]

All the Ryanair -200s are stage 3 hushkitted.

[kopbhoy2]

I was at Stansted most of the day today and I live near to Prestwick and I havent seen any of the logojet B737-200's since this report.

They are still operating from Dublin - as are many of the other 737-200's

[brabazon]

airbourne, you mention that LDY is too short for the 737-800, what field length does a 737-800 need for a full-load to STN?

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

All the Ryanair -200s are stage 3 hushkitted.

Are European's fleet of 737-200's stage 3 hushkitted?

Thanks
BAe 146-100

[Astronut]

I have no doubt the reason to retire them is to cry foul and charge FLS for early retirement. Not being cynical!

[Jet A1]

Hear Excel helping out with the -800's !

[jethro15]

And EAAC are providing the -200

Anyone got a definitive list of the Ryanair - 200's involved??

jethros
UK and Ireland Airline Fleet Listings
htto://www.jethros.i12.com

[bmibaby.com]

What exactly is the status of the Boeing 737-300 fleet that buzz Stansted has operating for Ryanair?

The entire 733 fleet seems to be in various colourings, Continental, all-white, all-yellow etc?

Will these aircraft eventually be painted into full Ryanair colours and stay as a long term part of the fleet, possibly seeing more 733s added?

Will all of the fleet get the new leather seatings and the "in seat safety cards" as being reported on airliners.net forums?

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

Will all of the fleet get the new leather seatings and the "in seat safety cards" as being reported on airliners.net forums?

Only the new 737-800's delivered will receive this I think. It would cost too much for the whole 737-800 fleet to have these modifications.

BAe 146-100

[kpiko3]

Ian,The Kilkenny Logojet is still going about because I seen it at Prestwick when the An-225 arrived in on the Wednesday night(25/9)and it was based over night.That was after this news broke.

Is there any BAE-146-200 aircraft left in the Buzz-Stansted fleet or have they all went to KLM and FlyBe.

Kpiko3

[timzsta]

All the 146's that are operated by Buzz Stansted Ltd for Ryanair are 300 series, 110Y.

Of the Buzz 737-300s ZA went to Astreaus and ZB to Easyjet. ZE and ZF are in full final Buzz livery, while ZJ I believe is yellow with "Ryanair titles". ZG ZH and ZI are still in largely continental livery with Ryanair titles.

Have seen the Vodafone and Kilkenny Jaguar logojets at EGSS in the last few days.

I wouldnt imagine a 737-800 is anywhere near performance limited at STN, given that they have 26K engines. Perhaps someone can give us the figures.

The latest Ryanair livery with big lettering looks pretty good I have to say.

Best looking 737-800s are the Air Berlins IMHO. Didn't realise how big an 800 was until I started to dispatch them.

[kpiko3]

Another Logojet seen today,
It was EI-CJD In the Eircell colour scheme at PIK.
Looks like there training pilots early,Ryanair had 2 aircraft training at the once at Prestwick today.
Did EMA get any training aircraft today?

CHEERS
Kpiko3