ch-aviation Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2023
About the Award
The ch-aviation Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award recognises Airlines across the globe that maintain young, modern, efficient aircraft. By operating new-generation aircraft, they contribute significantly to decreasing CO2 emissions while achieving better fuel efficiency.
To acknowledge their accomplishments, ch-aviation has decided to give them the recognition they deserve. It is important to note that this award is based entirely on non-manipulable aircraft data. There is no jury or any other subjective parameter involved.
World’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award Winner
2023
We are happy to announce that Starlux Airlines is the winner of the ch-aviation World’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2023.
They count 18 aircraft in their fleet, with an average aircraft age of 1.22* years.
Winners in categories:
1. Uganda Airlines
First place for Africa’s Youngest Fleet goes to Uganda Airlines, with an average aircraft age of 3.01* years. Its fleet comprises six jets, two of which are Airbus while the remaining four are Bombardier. Founded in 2018 as a scheduled carrier, Uganda Airlines has been steadily expanding its fleet. Today it serves nine countries, 12 destinations and operates 13 routes.
2. Jambojet
Jambojet comes in second in the category of Africa’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet. A subsidiary of Kenya Airways, it is a low-fare carrier with a fleet of seven aircraft. The average age of Jambojet’s fleet is 4.38* years.
3. Air Tanzania
Air Tanzania takes third place in Africa’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet list. With 12 aircraft in its fleet, Air Tanzania serves 10 countries and 23 destinations. The average age of their aircraft is 5.66* years.
4. Air Seychelles
Air Seychelles is fourth on Africa’s Youngest Fleet list with seven aircraft in their fleet, averaging 6.14* years in age. From its headquarters in Mahé, it serves seven destinations in six countries via six routes.
5. Air Austral
The fifth place belongs to Air Austral. Operating as Air Réunion from 1986 to 1990 and before that as Réunion Air Service, Air Austral is part of Alliance Vanille. It has a fleet of 10 aircraft with an average age of 6.71* years.
1. Starlux Airlines
First place in Asia for the Youngest Aircraft Fleet and the Youngest Fleet Worldwide belongs to Starlux Airlines, a carrier from Taiwan founded in 2017. Starlux Airlines has an average aircraft age of 1.22* years. Its fleet consists of 18 aircraft from the same manufacturer – Airbus. They serve 15 destinations in eight countries through their 14 routes.
2. flyadeal
flyadeal commands second place in Asia and the Youngest Fleets Worldwide rankings. Based in Saudi Arabia, the Saudia LCC subsidiary has a fleet of 27 aircraft with an average age of 2.56* years.
3. Vistara
Vistara takes third place for the Youngest Aircraft Fleet in Asia, with 55 aircraft averaging 3.33* years old. A scheduled carrier with its headquarters in Delhi, Vistara serves 43 destinations in 12 countries.
4. Akasa Air
Akasa Air takes fourth place in Asia, with an average fleet age of 3.44* years. They’re a young airline founded in 2021 with a fleet of 13 aircraft. From their base in Mumbai, they currently serve nine cities and towns throughout India.
5. IndiGo Airlines
The fifth place belongs to IndiGo Airlines. They are also the Winner of the ‘Airlines with 100 or more aircraft in their fleet’ category. Their fleet counts 297 aircraft with an average age of 3.57* years. IndiGo’s headquarters are in Delhi, and from there, they serve 96 destinations in 16 countries.
1. PLAY Airlines
First place for Europe’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet category goes to Icelandic carrier PLAY, with eight Airbus jets averaging 3.17* years old. From its base at Reykjavik Keflavik (KEF), PLAY serves 16 countries, 27 destinations and 26 routes.
2. airBaltic
airBaltic comes in second for Europe’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet, with its fleet’s age averaging 3.80* years. The Latvian airline rebranded from Baltic International Airlines in 1995. Today, its fleet consists of 41 aircraft which serve 36 countries, 76 destinations and 106 routes.
3. Norse Atlantic Airways
The third place goes to Norse Atlantic Airways. Its fleet consists of nine Boeing 787s, with an average age of 4.15* years. The carrier was founded in 2021 and today serves four countries, five destinations and six routes.
4. Pegasus Airlines
Fourth place goes to Pegasus Airlines, a Turkish operator with 96 aircraft in its fleet. It has an average aircraft age of 4.4* years. Founded in 1990, Pegasus Airlines connects 44 countries and 124 destinations, running 233 routes from its headquarters in Istanbul.
5. Helvetic Airways
Helvetic Airways takes fifth place in Europe’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet 2023. Its 16 aircraft average 4.87* years of age. From its base in Zurich, Helvetic Airways serves seven countries, 11 destinations and 14 routes.
1. Lynx Air
Lynx Air wins first place with the youngest aircraft fleet in North America. The Canadian carrier counts six aircraft in its fleet, with an average age of 2.90* years. Since 2021, the airline has had its headquarters in Alberta and serves 14 destinations.
2. Flair Airlines
Flair Airlines won second place, with a fleet of 30 aircraft. Their average age comes up to 4.15* years. Founded through a merger with NewLeaf in 2017, Flair Airlines runs more than 80 routes throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
3. Frontier Airlines
Third place for North America’s youngest aircraft fleet goes to Frontier Airlines, whose fleet comprises 119 aircraft with an average age of 4.52* years. Frontier Airlines’ main base is in Denver, and it serves nine countries, 97 destinations and 300 routes.
4. VivaAerobus
VivaAerobus, a Mexican low-cost carrier with an average aircraft age of 5.28* years, takes fourth place for North America’s youngest aircraft fleet. Its fleet counts 69 aircraft that it uses to serve 51 destinations and 144 routes.
5. Volaris
Taking fifth place is another Mexican LCC, Volaris, whose average aircraft age is 5.51* years. Its 116 Airbus jets serve 184 routes.
1. Fiji Airways
Fiji Airways takes home first place for having Oceania’s youngest aircraft fleet by operating 19 aircraft with an average age of 6.14* years. As Fiji’s national airline, its headquarters are at Nadi International airport, serving 33 destinations and 39 routes.
2. Air Tahiti
Ranked second is Air Tahiti, with a fleet of 9 aircraft and an average age of 7.14* years. Based in French Polynesia, Air Tahiti serves 47 destinations and 111 routes.
3. Air New Zealand
The third place for Oceania’s youngest aircraft fleet goes to Air New Zealand. Counting 105 aircraft, the average age of its fleet is 8.64* years. Air New Zealand commenced operations in 1940 and established a route network spanning 18 countries and 50 destinations.
4. Jetstar Airways
Jetstar Airways from Australia is in fourth place, with the average age of its 83-strong fleet being 10.99* years. Since 2004, Jetstar Airways’ headquarters have been at Melbourne’s Tullamarine International airport. It serves 11 countries, 38 destinations and 98 routes.
5. Virgin Australia
The fifth place for Oceania’s youngest aircraft fleet belongs to Virgin Australia Group. The average age of its 95 aircraft fleet is 13.02* years. From its base in Brisbane, Virgin Australia serves 52 destinations and 113 routes.
1. SKY Airline (Chile)
First place in South America’s youngest aircraft fleets belongs to SKY Airline from Chile, which also managed to have the fourth-youngest aircraft fleet globally. Its fleet consists of 28 Airbus A320 Aircraft family, with an average aircraft age of 2.94* years. The airline serves seven countries, 38 destinations, and 45 routes from Arturo Merino Benítez International airport.
2. JetSMART
JetSMART comes in second place with 22 A320 family jets and an average age of 3.24* years. Its headquarters are in Santiago de Chile, serving 25 destinations and 43 routes.
3. Viva
Viva wins third place in South America. It operates a fleet of 21 aircraft and an average aircraft age of 3.36* years. Rebranded from Viva Air Colombia in 2021 and operating as VivaColombia before that, the budget carrier now serves seven countries, 26 destinations, and 50 routes.
4. EasyFly (Colombia)
EasyFly from Colombia won fourth place with an average aircraft age of 5.37* years and a fleet of 20. Founded in 2007, EasyFly has its headquarters in Bogotá and runs 46 routes covering 32 destinations.
5. Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras
The fifth-youngest South American aircraft fleet belongs to Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras from Brazil. Its fleet comprises 169 aircraft with an average age of 7.68* years. Since 2008, its headquarters have been in Sao Paulo, serving 167 destinations across 433 routes.
1. IndiGo Airlines
Among airlines with “100+ aircraft in their fleet”, IndiGo Airlines comes in first. They have a fleet of 297 aircraft and an average aircraft age of 3.57* years. The low-cost carrier serves 16 countries, 96 destinations, and 481 routes and has its base at Delhi Indira Gandhi International airport.
2. Wizz Air
The second place belongs to Hungary’s Wizz Air. Founded in 2004, the low-cost carrier keeps a fleet of 169 aircraft sourced from the Airbus A320 family, with an average age of 4.31* years. The airline has a network of 710 routes across 150 destinations and 44 countries.
3. Frontier Airlines
Frontier ranks third among airlines with “100+ aircraft in their fleet”. It counts 119 aircraft in its fleet, with an average of 4.52* years. Operating for 29 years, the low-cost carrier has its headquarters in Denver and serves 97 destinations.
4. Volaris
The fourth place belongs to Volaris, a North American airline that has a fleet of 116 aircraft. The average age of its aircraft is 5.49* years. From their base in Mexico, they serve six countries, 68 destinations and 185 routes.
5. Spring Airlines
The fifth place belongs to Spring Airlines, an Asian airline that has a fleet of 119 aircraft. The average age of its aircraft is 6.68* years. From their base in Shanghai, they serve nine countries, 109 destinations and 350 routes.
ch-aviation Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2023 Press Kit
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Get to Know
Award Methodology
ch-aviation maintains one of the industry’s largest and most comprehensive databases, used to determine the youngest aircraft fleet. The intelligence covers over 69,000 aircraft, more than 4,800 active airlines, 1,000 lessors, and more. To determine the Award’s winners, ch-aviation included only active commercial operators (both passenger and cargo aircraft) with five or more aircraft and used consolidated Air Operator Certificate lists for airline groups with multiple AOCs. Aircraft in a VIP configuration are excluded from the list.
Which Data has been used in the analysis?
*Aircraft data from the “ch-aviation fleets advanced” database as of December 31, 2022.
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