REX SAAB Issue?
The difference there is that SAAB still supports the SAAB 340 type certificate and is willing to help sign off on engineering changes/issues, and has still a lot of in house expertise to manage engineering changes and certification. That means that the 340 is only an, 'out of production' type, not obsolete. This goes on to issues such as airframe life, where they keep signing off on extensions based on in service data and testing outcomes. This is different to say the F27/F50, which lost its parent company, encountered a few airframe ending limits, and now the fleet is condemned without operators spending big bucks. Brasillias, Jetstreams and Metros are in the same boat, where the onus is on the operators mostly to fund any life extending patches.
Ah! I was sure that I read somewhere that SAAB had left aviation entirely and so thought that the 340 was an orphan like the Fokkers. If there is still factory support and engineering then the only hurdles would be money and a business case.
SAAB AB has shelved it's commercial arm, but all the stuff is stored around the place. They still make fighter jets and are focused on military contracts, which is where the money is. IFrom what I've read they won't be re-entering the civilian building market again without a partner, remember that the SF340 was a joint project with Fairchild to start with, which kicked off a lot of regional turboprop projects and no longer exists. But SAAB still has all the data and personnel to do with aircraft manufacture and design. Basically they are a huge company that can swing to anything that will make a dollar for them given the right conditions. Making fighter jets and parts and design for airbus is their focus in aviation at the moment.
https://www.saab.com/products/air/regional-aircraft
https://www.saab.com/products/air/regional-aircraft
Spoiler
An article in The Australian discusses the shortage of pilots (and engineers) at Rex.
From May 1, flights will be reduced on nine routes in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. Another four routes would see flight times altered, and the Mildura-Adelaide service will be suspended altogether. Rex general manager of network strategy Warwick Lodge said they would reinstate the services once the situation has stabilised. “These adjustments are necessitated by the chronic shortage of airline professionals, particularly pilots and engineers, as well as the severe disruption in the supply chain of aircraft and parts,” Mr Lodge said…...
The airline posted a $16.5m half year loss for the six months to December 2022, and noted that regional operations had been a “drag” on financial performance. A fleet of 34-seat Saab 340s with an average age of 28.6-years are used on regional routes, covering more than 60 destinations.
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You can fly old aircraft, sure. But not if you can’t attract engineering talent to handle the ever increasing workload.
Beats me why one of the richer countries in the world finds it necessary to operate aircraft long since retired elsewhere.
Likely more to do with the financial position with Rex. They don't have any means to fund a new regional replacement. Perhaps they should just stick to playing with Jets, after all, its all they seem to talk about.
The QF and QQ F100s are both older than REXs SAABs with the difference being the F100s have always had like for like replacements available where as there is nothing available as a replacement in the 30 seat segment or more importantly keeping the MTOW under the limits for security screening
As other countries don't have this MTOW verses security screening issue and foreign regionals progressively update their fleets, the likes of REX and Link will just keep buying up what's left
As other countries don't have this MTOW verses security screening issue and foreign regionals progressively update their fleets, the likes of REX and Link will just keep buying up what's left
Its not just Rex. I am also alluding to the Fokkers and 717s.
The oldest aircraft operate by QF in the fleets
717 - oldest 21 years the youngest 16 years. Retirement of the B717 has already begun.
A330 - 16 years. On 141 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 121
B737 - 15 years. On 294 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 179
717 - oldest 21 years the youngest 16 years. Retirement of the B717 has already begun.
A330 - 16 years. On 141 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 121
B737 - 15 years. On 294 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 179
The oldest aircraft operate by QF in the fleets
717 - oldest 21 years the youngest 16 years. Retirement of the B717 has already begun.
A330 - 16 years. On 141 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 121
B737 - 15 years. On 294 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 179
717 - oldest 21 years the youngest 16 years. Retirement of the B717 has already begun.
A330 - 16 years. On 141 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 121
B737 - 15 years. On 294 airlines operating this type of aircraft Qantas ranks 179
Network F100s at 27.5 years to 32.8 years
Or
Express Freighters 737s 32.8 years to 36.6 years
On another note
REXs SAABs are some of the younger ones still active
As far as I know, there is only one western-manufactured aircraft designed to carry between twenty and sixty airline passengers in production, and that's the ATR42 - a 40-seater. I'd expect that available passenger volumes would have to increase quite a bit to make an ATR42 work on the same routes on which a S340 is profitable.
Rex's best bet for a new 30-seater might be an ATR42 derivative modified to run on LH2 with a whopping great fuselage tank reducing the seating capacity.
But those would be very expensive, are a decade in the future and would require an enormous investment in LH2 production & storage infrastructure.
I have never understood why aircraft manufacturers or trying to electrify commercial aircraft as the big drawback is the weight
Toyota are going all in on hydrogen combustion vehicles and state they get the same range from 5 or so litres of compressed hydrogen as 60 litres of petrol
Even factoring the weight of heavier tanks, wouldn't a hydrogen powered commercial jet or prop be a better way to go whilst being even greener ?
Toyota are going all in on hydrogen combustion vehicles and state they get the same range from 5 or so litres of compressed hydrogen as 60 litres of petrol
Even factoring the weight of heavier tanks, wouldn't a hydrogen powered commercial jet or prop be a better way to go whilst being even greener ?
I understand there is a Turkish owned company (in Germany) that is developing a modern variant of the Dornier 328 and REX has acquired a share of a company that has produced electric engines for float planes and is presently developing an electric power plant for King Air sized turbine powered aircraft, one would expect that SAAB type aircraft would also be in their target range.
Cool, so they’re only about 10-15 years away from even being close to fit for purpose!