This year, the airline with the youngest aircraft fleet worldwide is Uganda Airlines. The African country’s national carrier has therefore been named Winner of the “ch-aviation World’s Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2021”, with an average aircraft age of 1.15* years.
To determine which airlines currently operate the youngest aircraft fleets, ch-aviation maintains an extensive aircraft fleet database consisting of more than 5,000 operators and more than 65,000 aircraft worldwide.
Thomas Jaeger, the CEO of ch-aviation, said of the Award:
“The ch-aviation Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award recognises airlines worldwide for keeping their fleet young, modern and efficient. Operators dedicated to keeping their aircraft fleet young and using new generations of aircraft contribute significantly to the decrease of C02 emissions within the aviation industry and help achieve better fuel efficiency. We congratulate Uganda Airlines and all other airlines that won the Award this year for their hard effort in renewing their fleets, therefore making flying more environmentally friendly. It is important to say that this Award is entirely based on non-manipulable fleet data. There is no jury or any other subjective parameter involved.”
The top five World’s Youngest Aircraft Fleets are:
| Ranking | Operator | Average aircraft age | Fleet size | Home base |
| 1 | Uganda Airlines | 1.15 years | 6 | Africa |
| 2 | SKY Airline | 1.34 years | 17 | South America |
| 3 | SalamAir | 1.90 years | 6 | Asia |
| 4 | JetSMART | 2.27 years | 14 | South America |
| 5 | airBaltic | 2.40 years | 25 | Europe |
The Award also acknowledges the top five youngest aircraft fleets from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America.
Asia’s youngest aircraft fleets:
| Ranking | Operator | Average aircraft age | Fleet size | Home base |
| 1 | SalamAir | 1.90 years | 6 | Oman |
| 2 | Japan Air Commuter | 2.68 years | 9 | Japan |
| 3 | flyadeal | 2.75 years | 12 | Saudi Arabia |
| 4 | Hunan Airlines | 2.98 years | 13 | China |
| 5 | Colorful Guizhou Airlines | 3.18 years | 13 | China |
Africa’s youngest aircraft fleets:
| Ranking | Operator | Average aircraft age | Fleet size | Home base |
| 1 | Uganda Airlines | 1.15 years | 6 | Uganda |
| 2 | Jambojet | 2.78 years | 6 | Kenya |
| 3 | Air Seychelles | 4.30 years | 7 | Seychelles |
| 4 | Ethiopian Airlines | 6.46 years | 118 | Ethiopia |
| 5 | EgyptAir | 6.48 years | 68 | Egypt |
Europe’s youngest aircraft fleets:
| Ranking | Operator | Average aircraft age | Fleet size | Home base |
| 1 | airBaltic | 2.41 years | 25 | Latvia |
| 2 | Azimuth | 3.15 years | 13 | Russia |
| 3 | Binter Canarias | 3.53 years | 26 | Spain |
| 4 | BRA – Braathens Regional Airways | 4.14 years | 12 | Sweden |
| 5 | Pobeda | 4.99 years | 35 | Russia |
North America’s youngest aircraft fleets:
| Ranking | Operator | Average aircraft age | Fleet size | Home base |
| 1 | Frontier Airlines | 4.20 years | 100 | USA |
| 2 | VivaAerobus | 4.24 years | 41 | Mexico |
| 3 | Volaris | 5.23 years | 83 | Mexico |
| 4 | WestJet Encore | 5.43 years | 47 | Canada |
| 5 | Swoop | 5.46 years | 9 | Canada |
Oceania’s youngest aircraft fleets:
| Ranking | Operator | Average aircraft age | Fleet size | Home base |
| 1 | Fiji Link | 4.49 years | 7 | Fiji |
| 2 | Air Tahiti | 5.29 years | 10 | French Polynesia |
| 3 | Fiji Airways | 7.41 years | 12 | Fiji |
| 4 | Air New Zealand | 8.14 years | 113 | New Zealand |
| 5 | Jetstar Airways | 10.52 years | 69 | Australia |
South America’s youngest aircraft fleets:
| Ranking | Operator | Average aircraft age | Fleet size | Home base |
| 1 | SKY Airline | 1.35 years | 16 | Chile |
| 2 | JetSMART | 2.28 years | 14 | Chile |
| 3 | Viva Air Colombia | 3.22 years | 19 | Colombia |
| 4 | EasyFly | 3.78 years | 16 | Colombia |
| 5 | Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras | 6.38 years | 144 | Brazil |
About the Methodology:
To determine which airlines currently operate the youngest aircraft fleets, we maintain and research an extensive aircraft fleet database consisting of more than 5,000 operators and more than 65,000 aircraft worldwide. To determine the Award’s winners, ch-aviation included 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.
*Data from “ch-aviation fleets advanced” as of February 15th, 2021.
About ch-aviation
Founded in 1998 as an aviation information provider in Chur, Switzerland, ch-aviation is a subscription-based intelligence platform that offers a wide variety of constantly updated and monitored data and news on the airline industry. Most industry leaders use our data to make informed decisions.
About the Award
More details about the Award can be found on the Youngest Aircraft Fleet Award 2021 official page.
For additional photos of the virtual plaque Awards and logos, reach out to us directly using the contact information below.
Contact details for editors:
ch-aviation GmbH
Marija Verovic
VP Marketing
+41445084707 ext:133
