Ryanair 732 to go quicker than expected
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Ryanair 732 to go quicker than expected
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
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.
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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.
Before "Ze Germans" get here
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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.
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.
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Hi,
Will these be 737-800's?
BAe 146-100
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.
BAe 146-100
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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.
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.
Last edited by eng123; 20th Sep 2003 at 18:06.
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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.
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.
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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?
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?
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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
but i agree they're beautiful
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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.
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.
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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 !
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 !
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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!