What are the oldest active aircraft of the three major US airlines?

Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines are often collectively referred to as the “Big Three” of U.S. aviation. Together, they own an incredible nearly 3,000 aircraft, making them the three largest airlines in the world by several metrics, including fleet size, revenue and brand value.

In recent years, all three airlines have initiated fleet renewal plans that will add some of the world’s most modern aircraft to their fleets, such as Airbus’ A321XLR and A350 and Boeing’s 737 MAX and 777X. However, a significant number of the aircraft in their fleets are much older and are close to being retired.

Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock

Supported by the latest data from ch-aviation: What are the oldest active aircraft in the fleets of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines?

Delta Air Lines

Boeing 757-200 (N649DL)

The oldest active aircraft in Delta Air Lines’ fleet is a Boeing 757-200, registration N649DL. The aircraft was delivered new to the airline in May 1989, making it over 35 years old. Today, it is one of 109 757-200s that make up Delta Air Lines’ fleet, with an average age of nearly 28 years.

The airline is expected to phase out the ageing aircraft over the next few years as it takes delivery of large numbers of Airbus A321neo and Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, which are ideal replacements for the 757.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

While most of Delta Air Lines’ 757-200s can carry 168-199 passengers, N649DL features a special VIP configuration with 72 seats in first and business class. In total, N649DL has completed over 40,000 flights through 2024, accumulating more than 92,000 flight hours, averaging just over two hours. Data from Flightradar24 shows that N649DL has recently flown short domestic routes for Delta Air Lines, such as:

• Minneapolis (MSP) to Washington (IAD)
• Atlanta (ATL) to Kansas City (MKC).

You might also like:

Examined: The most frequently served Boeing 757-200 routes in the USA

The 757-200 has been an extremely reliable aircraft for decades. But where is it most commonly found?

Delta Air Lines is also one of the last remaining operators of the Boeing 757-300, a stretched version of the 757-200 that the airline has configured to carry up to 235 passengers.

United Airlines

Boeing 767-300ER (N641UA)

United Airlines’ oldest active aircraft is registered as N641UA. The Boeing 767-300ER was delivered new to the airline in April 1991, making it over 33 years old. As of 2024, N641UA has completed over 19,000 flights and accumulated more than 125,000 flight hours, with an average flight length of about six hours.

Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock

Data from Flightradar24 shows that United Airlines has recently operated N641UA on international flights worldwide, including:

• Houston (IAH) to Lima (LIM)
• Washington (IAD) to Munich (MUC)
• Washington (IAD) to Barcelona (BCN).

N641UA is one of 37 Boeing 767-300ERs in United Airlines’ fleet. The fleet has an average age of nearly 29 years and is expected to be retired by 2030 and replaced by the 150 787s the airline has on order. N641UA can carry a total of 203 passengers in a three-class configuration – 149 in Economy Class, 24 in Premium Economy and 30 in Business Class.

You might also like:

Six of the world’s ten most popular international passenger routes with the Boeing 767 are in the USA in August

Have you ever been to one of them?

American Airlines

Boeing 737-200 (N133XE)

The oldest active aircraft in American Airlines’ fleet is an Airbus A320-200, registration N649AW. The aircraft joined American Airlines’ fleet in October 2015 as part of the airline’s acquisition of US Airways. However, the aircraft was originally delivered new to America West Airways in April 1998 before being transferred to US Airways in November 2006, making the aircraft over 26 years old today.

You might also like:

The History of American Airlines – How the airline became what it is today

American has a long history.

Like all American Airlines Airbus A320s, N649AW is equipped to carry up to 150 passengers in a two-class configuration – 138 in Economy Class and 12 in Business Class. According to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft has recently been used on short domestic routes such as:

• Dallas (DFW) to San Antonio (SAT)
• Phoenix (PHX) to Reno (RNO)
• Dallas (DFW) to New Orleans (MSY).

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

In total, N649AW has completed over 34,000 flights and logged nearly 86,000 flight hours through 2024. This aircraft is one of 48 Airbus A320s that make up American Airlines’ fleet, with an average age of over 23 years. As the older aircraft are retired, they are expected to be replaced by new Airbus A321neos and Boeing 737 MAXs.

In recent years, American Airlines has retired many of its older aircraft, including the Boeing 757, 767 and Airbus A330, all of which were retired during the pandemic. Replacing the wide-body aircraft will be 30 more Boeing 787-9s, which are currently on order and will join the existing 37 787-8s and 22 787-9s in the airline’s fleet.

Learn more:

Looking back: When American Airlines eliminated five aircraft types

A total of 95 aircraft from the manufacturers Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier were decommissioned.