Young, Popular Airliners Are Being Scrapped Early as Parts Shortage Bites

An Airbus A320neo that rolled off the line in Mobile, Alabama, in July 2022, painted bright yellow for Spirit Airlines, was built to fly for decades. This May, less than four years later, it was stripped for parts and crushed at a facility outside Phoenix.

Industry executives say more aircraft are being dismantled years, even decades, earlier than expected, driven by a shortage of parts - above all engines - that has frustrated airlines and pushed up costs. Twenty-one newest-generation aircraft were torn down between June 2025 and this past August, according to IBA Group. They averaged 6.4 years old, against a typical retirement age of 21.7 years for narrow-body planes.

Bill Thompson of EirTrade Aviation, which bought the less than four-year-old A320neo, said it was the first time in his career he had purchased an aircraft under five years old. The firm paid single-digit millions for that plane and a similarly aged one, and expects a profit from selling more than 1,000 parts removed before crushing.

A major reason for the early retirements is long waits and rising prices for jet engines. Newer engines that burn hotter and use less fuel are reaching maintenance sooner than airlines expected, leaving repair shops backed up. A Pratt & Whitney recall over contaminated powdered metal in some parts grounded hundreds of Airbus planes worldwide and added to the backlog.

Some owners find they can make more from parts than from selling the plane or paying storage costs while waiting for it to fly again. Dave Querio of Ascent Aviation Services said he has not seen the volume of younger aircraft being torn down that he sees today, calling it "a little melancholy to watch at times."