Scrapheap awaits 1,000 old aircraft

Around 1,000 aeroplanes are heading for the scrapheap due to the slump in passenger traffic in the aftermath of 11 September.

Rows of Boeing 747s, 737s and other models are currently sitting in "graveyards" in the Arizona desert after airlines retired or rested them.

Research conducted by Boeing, the aeroplane manufacturer, has revealed that 1,200 aeroplanes were grounded due to the terrorist attacks. As most of them were old models close to retirement, it is expected they will be sold as scrap rather than brought back into service.

"September 11 has made airlines do it sooner rather than spread it out over a number of years," said Randy Baseler, vice-president responsible for marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

New models have lower operating costs because of lighter fuel burn. Manufacturers are also believed to be discounting heavily to encourage demand, so now is a good time to buy.

Thousands of aircraft were retired after the Second World War, but most were small fighter jets. "In terms of the weight of metal, this will be the biggest ever scrap," said Daniel Solon, analyst at aerospace research company Avmark International.

The Gulf War also led to many aircraft being parked, but these came back into service. "Ten years ago the aeroplanes were 10 years younger," explained Mr Baseler.

The other significant manufacturer for whom the demand for new aircraft will come as welcome relief is Airbus, which is 20 per cent owned by BAE Systems, the UK defence manufacturer, and majority owned by EADS, the European defence group.

Both Airbus and Boeing slashed thousands of jobs after 11 September and scaled down their production capacity because of reduced demand. If the parked aircraft were to be put back into service, their situation would be much worse.

However, Mr Baseler was confident that this would not happen, predicting that two thirds of airlines would not be coming back. Boeing now says that the delivery schedule for new aeroplanes will be restored to pre-11 September levels by late 2004.

Although most of the 1,200 aircraft that have been taken out of service will be retired for good, it may be some years before the airlines officially write the aircraft off if the cost hasn't been fully depreciated. "There are aircraft that won't return to service but the owners won't take the hit on the balance sheet yet," said Mr Solon.