6 days Ago By Luke Bodell
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair was founded over four decades ago and soon became a significant force in the European aviation market. Operating with an all-Boeing 737 fleet—consisting of both Boeing 737NG and the newer 737 MAX models—Ryanair maintains a vast network of over 230 airports in 37 countries, operating around 3,600 flights every single day. The Ryanair Group, which also includes subsidiaries Buzz, Lauda and Malta Air, has a total fleet size of 616 aircraft, of which 590 are from the Boeing 737 family (the other 26 are Airbus A320s at Lauda).
The oldest aircraft still flying in the Ryanair fleet are now over two decades old, while its newest planes are brand-new 737 MAX 8200 aircraft fresh from the factory. What Are Ryanair's Oldest Active Planes? Delivered over two decades ago As per data from ch-aviation , the oldest aircraft in Ryanair's fleet is EI-DCJ, a 20-year-old Boeing 737-800 delivered to the carrier on September 1st, 2004. The aircraft was part of a record order placed by Ryanair in early 2002 for 100 Boeing 737NGs, along with 50 additional options.
It was one of two airframes delivered to the airline that day, the other being EI-DCK, which is almost identical in age. However, EI-DCJ was built before EI-DCK in Boeing's production line with a Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) of 33564, whereas the latter has the next MSN of 33565. EI-DCJ took its first flight on August 17th, 2004, three days prior to EI-DCK.
As it did with the rest of its earlier 737-800 fleet, Ryanair added winglets to EI-DCJ—in fact, it was the first airframe in Ryanair's fleet to get the upgrade at the end of 2005. Data from Flightradar24 shows that EI-DCJ is still a workhorse in the fleet, operating up to 9 daily flights. While flight utilization data on the jet isn't available, it is fair to say that with Ryanair's famously rapid turnaround times , it will have racked up a lot of flight hours.
Ryanair 737-800 onboard experience Ryanair's 737-800s can seat up to 189 passengers in an all-economy layout featuring a 3-3 seating configuration. This is eight fewer seats than the airline's 737 MAX 8200 fleet. Unlike flights with a full-service carrier, Ryanair flights lack many onboard amenities (although you can pay for some things).
For example, there is no meal service or in-flight entertainment (IFE), but snacks and drinks are available to purchase onboard. Many passengers have spoken of Ryanair's seeming tendency to perform harder landings. Inside The Ryanair 737-800 Fleet As of April 2025, the airline has a total of 19 737-800s over the age of 20 years.
All of these aircraft were delivered between September 2004 and March 2005. Reg Delivered Age EI-DCJ 1st Sep 2004 20.6 Years EI-DCK 1st Sep 2004 20.
6 Years EI-DCL 1st Oct 2004 20.6 Years EI-DCM 1st Oct 2004 20.6 Years EI-DCN 1st Nov 2004 20.
5 Years EI-DCO 1st Nov 2004 20.5 Years EI-DCP 1st Nov 2004 20.5 Years EI-DCR 2nd Dec 2004 20.
4 Years EI-DCW 13th Jan 2005 20.3 Years EI-DCX 21st Jan 2005 20.3 Years EI-DCY 25th Jan 2005 20.
2 Years EI-DCZ 26th Jan 2005 20.2 Years EI-DHA 1st Feb 2005 20.2 Years EI-DHC 17th Feb 2005 20.
2 Years EI-DHD 25th Feb 2005 20.2 Years EI-DHE 2nd Mar 2005 20.1 Years EI-DHF 3rd Mar 2005 20.
1 Years EI-DHG 18th Mar 2005 20.1 Years EI-DHH 29th Mar 2005 20.1 Years The next airframe to turn 20 years old will be EI-DHN, delivered to the airline on September 1st, 2005, exactly one year after Ryanair's current two oldest planes arrived.
And what of the Boeing 737-800 that came before EI-DCJ in Ryanair's fleet? EI-DCI was delivered to the airline a month before EI-DCJ but was removed from the Ryanair fleet in late 2021. However, this didn't make EI-DCJ the oldest plane in the fleet at that point, as there were still a small number of older airframes operating into 2022. But it would become the oldest in late January 2022 when EI-DCH - delivered on the same day as EI-DCI - was retired.
This means EI-DCJ has been Ryanair's oldest plane for more than three years now. There Is An Older Aircraft Owned By Ryanair While this article touches on planes still flying under the Ryanair banner, Ryanair Group actually has one aircraft that is even older than EI-DCJ by almost six years. The company has a 26-year-old Boeing 737-700 (registration: SP-RUM) on its books that it used to utilize for training flights and chartering out as a business jet.
This plane took its first flight in early 1999 before flying with the likes of Azzurra Air and Sterling Airlines before joining Ryanair in 2015. The aircraft was used for training flights before Ryanair briefly reconfigured it as a 60-seat business jet for charters before returning to its 148-seat layout. Want to know more? Why airlines love operating the Boeing 737-700 series Under Ryanair, the 737-700 flew under the registration EI-SEV but has now been re-registered under the Buzz brand as SP-RUM.
The aircraft is now deployed on scheduled commercial flights, a role it has performed for the last 18 months, and is based at Katowice. It is the world's 29th oldest active 737-700. Oldest 737s Still Flying Today Ryanair's Boeing 737NGs may be advanced in years, but they don't rank among the world's oldest 737s still in service today.
That title is owned by a 47-year-old Boeing 737-200 Advanced (registration: YV3471) flying under Venezuelan charter airline Venezolana. Built way back in 1978, the jet flew under United Airlines for over 25 years before joining Venezolana in 2011. There are still some even older Boeing 737 airframes in service today, but not in a commercial capacity.
This includes two 737-200s owned by the Peruvian Air Force and two with the Indian Air Force that are over 50 years old! The Boeing 737-800 Today The Boeing 737-800 remains a key part of the global narrowbody fleet, although it has been superseded by the 737 MAX series. Nonetheless, there are still around 4,000 Boeing 737-800 aircraft in service around the world today, of which Ryanair Group is the world's biggest operator with a total of 410 airframes. The world's largest 737-800 operators are as follows: Airline Name 737-800s Ryanair Group 410 American Airlines 303 Ryanair DAC 222 Southwest Airlines 400 China Southern Airlines 161 United Airlines 141 Hainan Airlines 132 Shandong Airlines 123 XiamenAir 118 Under Ryanair Group, its 737-800s are distributed across Ryanair (205), Ryanair UK (15), Malta Air (136) and Buzz (54).
The oldest airframes in the Malta Air and Buzz fleets are also approaching 20 years old, while one Ryanair UK 737-800 has already hit the 20-year mark. As for the -800s successor, the Boeing 737 MAX 8, it is one of two variants in service - along with the 737 MAX 9 - as Boeing continues to pursue certification for the MAX 10 and MAX 7. According to ch-aviation, there are almost 1,700 MAX aircraft in service today and over 6,200 total deliveries.
Comparison With European Rivals Ryanair is the second-largest low-cost carrier in the world (if measured by revenue) behind Southwest, ranking as the 12th largest airline globally for the same metric. However, it faces stiff competition from major European rivals easyJet, Jet2 and Wizz Air, which make up the top five largest LCCs worldwide. If we compare their fleet ages, Wizz Air's fleet is the most youthful, particularly as its Airbus A321neo fleet grows, while easyJet and Ryanair are fairly similar with a mix of old and new.
Jet2 stands out when it comes to older aircraft, particularly with over a dozen 737-800s over 25 years old and some even older 737-300s on its books. easyJet's oldest plane is 19 years old, while at Wizz Air the oldest is an 18-year-old A320-200. The oldest aircraft have been in the skies for more than 50 years.
Future of Ryanair's fleet The Irish LCC continues to operate with the 737-800 forming the bulk of its fleet, although its 737 MAX 8200 fleet is catching up quickly as new deliveries take place. Ryanair has previously indicated its intent to start phasing out its 737NG fleet from 2026 as it replaces them with the MAX. However, with some 737-800 airframes only just reaching six years old, these planes could stay at Ryanair for many more years.
The airline will also be an operator of the upcoming 737 MAX 10 with a huge order for up to 300 aircraft, which will be able to seat 228 passengers. The MAX 8200 offers around 15% improved fuel burn compared to its predecessor, and also has more range at 3,550 NM. Importantly for Ryanair, its MAX fleet can also seat eight more passengers than the 189-seater 737-800, helping the carrier to make more flights profitable by filling up those final seats.
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