airplanes – The OM Blog by Heizer, Render, & Munson

OM in the News: Where Airplanes Go To Die

What happens when an aircraft is no longer needed and its engines are turned off and allowed to cool down for the final time? What comes after that?

Airlines may put retired aircraft in open-air aviation museums, such as the renowned Concorde SST, but the majority of such aircraft end up in “boneyards” after they retire. Thousands of aircraft, for example, are kept in vast boneyards, dotting the deserts of the southwest U.S., reports Interesting Engineering (Aug. 16, 2021)

On the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona sit rows of aircraft, ranging in size from massive cargo lifters to heavy bombers, stretched out in the blazing desert sun. This is the world’s largest aircraft storage and preservation facility, known as the Boneyard, which resides within the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Arranged over 2,600 acres, this place is home to almost 4,000 aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps, and NASA.

While some seem to be brand new, others are shrouded in protective covers to keep sand and dust away. Not all jets are fortunate enough to survive retirement in one piece, and some have been reduced to boxes of spare parts, ready to be sent out to different locations around the globe to give a hand to other aircraft take to the skies again.

Why Tucson? First, the climatic conditions in Arizona, with its dry heat and low humidity, mean aircraft take longer to rust and degrade, making them less susceptible to corrosion and making it easier to keep them in proper working condition. Also, deserts offer a large amount of space for an affordable price, which means those interested in their service save a lot of money. The geology of the desert with its alkaline soil is also hard enough to prevent aircraft from sinking into the ground. This way, planes can be parked in the desert without costly new parking ramps.

Although the desert is kind of like an aviation retirement home, some of the planes’ flying days are still ahead of them. If a plane is due to fly again, it’s looked after by facility technicians who make sure all entrances to the aircraft are sealed to keep out dirt, dust, and wildlife. They regularly operate motors and other equipment to ensure that everything is working smoothly.

Classroom discussion questions:

What events have caused commercial airlines to park planes in the “boneyard”?
What are the OM issues that managers face in these facilities?

OM in the News: Redesigning the Overhead Baggage Bin

Frustrated at having his own carry-on bag taken from him when overhead bins filled, Boeing engineer Brent Walton asked the question many travelers ask: “Why don’t planes have enough bin space for all passengers?” Then he figured out a solution—make bins tall enough so you can turn bags on their side, like standing up books on a shelf rather than laying them flat.

Boeing’s new Space Bin increases the number of bags a typical plane can carry by nearly 50%, reports The Wall Street Journal (Oct.15, 2015). A single-aisle Boeing 737-900 with 181 seats has room for 57 more bags, or a total of 174 rollaboard bags. That’s enough to accommodate a planeload of passengers with room for their coats. The space bins are big enough so you can actually stack two bags on top of each other or push two in sideways together. Alaska Airlines took delivery of the first Space Bin 737 on Friday and will put it into service this week. The new design can be retrofitted into most 737s, the most common plane in airline fleets, and it doesn’t add any weight to the airplane. Alaska has decided to retrofit its 737s and install big bins on new planes.

Passenger surveys show the lack of overhead space is one of the biggest gripes about airline travel today. Boarding a plane has dramatically changed because of the carry-on crunch. Gate agents wrest bags from passengers in late boarding groups to tag them for checking. Some airlines have baggage tag printers at gates for all the bags that don’t fit in overhead bins. And flights get delayed when too many passengers can’t find room for their bags.

Classroom discussion questions:

Why is this new product design (or redesign) so important to airline operations managers?
How will the new layout impact the boarding process/time?

OM in the News: Recycling Hits the Airplane Industry

In Supplement 5, we point out that the auto industry recycles more than 84% of cars scrapped each year. The new Mercedes S550 sedan is designed to be 95% recycled, years ahead of the EU standards that take effect in 2015. In general, auto manufacturers now design in such a way that materials can be easily reused in the next generation of cars. The same can not be said of the commercial airplane industry.

But the latest Businessweek (March 3-9, 2012) points out that sustainability is now on the minds of airlines for a variety of reasons. Older planes are being disassembled for their parts at an increasing rate, and the average age of planes has dropped by a third, to 18 years, over the past decade and a half. Rising fuel prices have made kerosene-guzzling old-timers unpopular with carriers. (Fuel makes up about 30% of operating expenses). United, which burns $25,000 of fuel every minute, is thinking of grounding the dated Boeing 737-500 and 767-200ER jets from its 1,200 plane fleet.

Older planes such as these used to end up in developing countries from Mexico to Indonesia to Kenya, where they found a home after being retired by Western carriers. But prodded by safety and environmental concerns, more and more countries are choosing new over used planes. Production of single-aisle jets, the most widely used type in the industry, is now at an all-time high. This leaves no shortage of cadavers to be recycled for parts.

Especially popular are engines coming off A320s and 737s.The turbines that house rotating parts (such as disks or blades that operate at 2,700 degrees F) require routine replacement and can cost $4.4 million new. Recycled disks and blades drop the price in half. Since an engine off the older 737-700 can be used in the newer 737-800 model, economic obsolescence has fueled the airplane recycling industry.

Discussion questions:

1. Why is the life cycle of airplanes getting shorter?

2. Why is recycling a major issue for operations managers?