Ever boarded an aircraft and thought “hey, this thing looks pretty old, is it still safe?”
Many planes in the global fleet have ages beyond 20 years – for example, the Qantas fleet of 747-400 aircraft which has just been retired, was in service for around 25 years. Their remaining fleet of 747-400ER are about 10 years younger.
So how does a plane that old manage to remain in airworthy service?
All it takes is some tender loving care!