As one of the fastest developing aviation markets, India has a relatively young fleet of aircraft. But of the hundreds of active commercial airplanes in the country, it's not uncommon to find some that have crossed the 40,000-hour mark. And 20 of them have clocked more than 50,000 hours.

60,000+ hours

According to data provided by ch-aviation, the top four airplanes on the list have flown for more than 60,000 hours, and all four, unsurprisingly, are freighter airplanes flying for SpiceXpress. VT-SFF, a Boeing 737-800(BCF), tops the list with 67,726 hours. The 21.53-year-old jet has flown 34,828 cycles with an average length of almost two hours.

A close second is another B737-800(BCF) – VT-SFG – with 64,628 hours across 33,237 flight cycles. Rounding out the top four are two Boeing 737-700(BDSF) – VT-SFB and VT-SFE – that have accumulated 63,531 and 60,932 hours, respectively. All four of these airplanes are over two decades old and have been flying for SpiceXpress for two to three years.

55-60,000 hours

SpiceJet again dominates the list of six aircraft in this category, featuring five of the carrier's 737 aircraft. However, it's IndiGo that comes out on top for flying a passenger plane in India with the most accumulated hours. VT-IKC, an Airbus A320-200, is 18.91 years old and has accrued 59,444 hours. It first flew for Qatar Airways in 2003 and joined IndiGo in 2019.

Indigo-Runway-Landing
No official cause for the deviation has been given. Photo: Getty Images.

Completing the top 10, the next five airplanes are all 737s again, belonging to SpiceJet. Four of those are 737-800 passenger aircraft (VT-SYJ, VT-SGJ, VT-SXE, and VT-SYA) that have gathered between 55,800 and 57,300 hours. The fifth, a B737-700(BDSF) – VT-SFD – has flown for 57,041 hours with 37,024 cycles.

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50-55000 hours

The remaining 10 planes from the list all belong to this category, which has a slightly more diverse mix of airplanes than the top 10. The first one here is Air India's 14.23-year-old Boeing  777-300ER (VT-ALK) that has clocked 54,076 hours. However, in contrast to the narrowbodies, the long-range 777 has completed those hours in 7,559 cycles with an average duration of just over seven hours.

Three more of AI's 777s feature in this category – VT-ALM, VT-ALG, and VT-ALN – with 51,926, 51,831, and 50,768 hours, respectively. Air India also has four parked 747-400 airplanes that have accumulated well over 70,000 hours, but this list features commercial aircraft that are currently active.

The Tatas are expected to bring about many changes within the airline, including management and fleet optimization. Photo: Getty Images

Three of SpiceJet's B737-800s also find a place in this section (VT-SXA, VT-SYZ, and VT-SYD), with VT-SXA accruing 53,110 hours over a period of 14.58 years and 25,335 cycles.

Next are two converted Boeing 757 freighters from Chennai-based cargo airline Blue Dart Aviation. VT-BDQ is more than 25 years old, with its first flight for Icelandair in 1996, and has a total of 52,522 hours across 15,588 flight cycles. It joined Blue Dart in 2014. The carrier's second 757, VT-BDA, has gathered 51,725 hours over a period of 24.76 years.

Rounding out the entire list is AirAsia India's Airbus A320-200 (VT-PNQ), which has a total of 50,433 hours spread across 32,023 flight cycles with an average length of 1:34 hours.

What are your thoughts on the average age and flight hours of Indian-registered airplanes? Do share your comments below.