Originally Posted by Facelookbovvered
my point about aircraft age is that other than a lower purchase cost there is absolutely no benefit in running an old fleet, other than you can park them up in winter at less cost, everything else cost more a lot more. No warranty, higher fuel burn and that includes the old NG's entering the fleet, aircraft get heavier with age, they become more drag prone due to rippling, more tech issues, more delays and yes they've had a number of turn back and the 737 Achilles heel depressurisation related issues. You can add to that non standard spec depending on what the original owner ordered.
Lower capital costs are a huge advantage. You're right, you can't work the fleet as hard as if it was factory fresh, but clearly jet2 have done their sums and, for them, having the flexibility to park up part of the fleet works. For example a 2012 738 is estimated to lease at $375,000 a month - a 2000 build at around 210,000, a 737-300 somewhere around $60,000 a month. You'd have to burn a lot of fuel to make up $300k a month ($3.6 million annually). So, while you can't work the fleet as hard and need more operational spares, you have the flexibility to adjust to the market demands.
Does anyone really care wither the aircraft they are flying on was built in 2013 or 1983? Does it make any difference? New aircraft have technical problems too.