We all know that commercial airplanes spend their active service lives cross-crossing continents, ferrying passengers from origin to destination, and earning the airlines that fly them valuable revenue while doing so. Yet have you ever stopped and examined just how hard some aircraft work on a day-to-day basis? Equally, have you ever wondered just how many passengers a commercial aircraft might carry over a week, a month, or even a year?
Safety should always remain paramount, and airlines are required by their regulatory authorities to maintain the aircraft in their fleets to the highest standards of safety and airworthiness. However, this has to be offset against an airline wanting (and often, needing) to fly their airplanes at as high a utilization rate as possible, cramming in as many hours of flying each day and keeping the aircraft in the air with revenue-paying passengers onboard. After all, any aircraft sitting on the ground is costing its operator money and is simply not performing the very function for which it was acquired.
In this article, AeroTime takes a deep dive into the lives of four commercial aircraft over seven days. It will take a close look at how each aircraft is utilized, how many flights it performs each day, how much distance it covers, and how many passengers it potentially carries throughout that week. The aim is to build up a picture of the typical operations pattern of four different aircraft types of aircraft operating in various parts of the world.
By the end of the article, you should have a better understanding of how airlines use their assets to achieve optimal operational efficiencies, meet planned schedules, and ultimately, earn revenue while delivering passengers to their chosen destination on time, every time. All aircraft and flight data used in the compilation of this article has been sourced from aviation data providers Flightradar24 and ch-aviation.
Meet the planes
For this article, AeroTime followed its four commercial aircraft over seven days with the chosen period being midnight on Monday, January 20, 2025, ending at midnight on Sunday, January 26, 2025. Each aircraft varies in size and is located in a different part of the world to the others. Equally, each is used to serve a different purpose for its respective operators than its counterparts. By choosing such an eclectic selection of airplanes, we get to build a picture of just how different aircraft types suit different missions, and how airlines adapt their route networks to specific aircraft types.
For this article, the first aircraft selected is a regional turboprop Saab SF340B airliner operating for Rex Airlines in Australia. Registered as VH-ZLQ and first delivered in September 1995 making it 29.6 years old, the aircraft seats 34 passengers in a single class configuration.
Used for high-frequency, short sector-length flights between rural communities and major population centers while operating lifeline flights to some of the remotest settlements in the country, the 57-strong Rex Airlines Saab SF340 turboprop fleet is seen as the vital link in a chain that connects such communities to larger towns and cities. Accessing those locations means rural residents can access healthcare, pursue business and leisure opportunities, as well as have access to onward travel connections via the larger airports into which Rex flies.
The second airplane to be followed is a Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX-8200 registered EI-EFY. The type is a 197-seat high-density variant of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 which, by featuring an additional set of emergency exits, can accommodate an additional eight passengers over the carrier’s Boeing 737-800s. The selected aircraft was delivered to Ryanair from Boeing on January 24, 2023, making it exactly two years old during the article’s tracked period.
Third up is United Airlines’ newest Airbus A321neo registered N54525 which was delivered to the airline in November 2024. Accommodating 200 passengers in a three-class configuration (20 in business class, 57 in premium economy, and 123 in economy), the aircraft is primarily used by the carrier on trunk routes between major cities across the US, with the airline taking full advantage of the type’s impressive economic performance on longer-range, medium-density transcontinental routes.
The last aircraft to be followed is in Singapore where we have selected Singapore Airlines’ newest Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner registered 9V-SDA as our aircraft to follow for the week. This aircraft only had its first flight in August 2024 and was delivered to the carrier in September 2024 making it 0.4 years old. The plane seats 337 passengers in a two-class configuration (36 in business class and 301 in economy). The airline uses its Boeing 787-10 fleet on international and regional routes from its main hub at Singapore-Changi Airport (SIN) operating largely roundtrip services to major airports in the Asia-Pacific region.
So having introduced the four airplanes that AeroTime followed for the week in question, let’s get traveling as we follow each through a week of their operational lives.
Great Australian milk run routes
Rex Airlines’ VH-ZLQ tends to operate short sectors around the carrier’s regional network. During the week analyzed, the aircraft was based at the airline’s hub at Brisbane International Airport (BNE) in Queensland, where it was assigned to operate arguably some of the most interesting route patterns to be found in the southern hemisphere. Known as ‘milk run’ services, the routes run westwards from Brisbane, with one of them lasting two days and stopping at several smaller isolated communities along the way, eventually returning to Brisbane at the end of the return leg.
The use of VH-ZLQ on these routes allows us to gain a real insight into how rural airline operations in the vast interior of Australia work, and how Rex Airlines flights provide the lifeblood to these remote settlements.
On Monday, January 20, 2025, VH-ZLQ set off from Brisbane at 08:13 for the first of its three milk-run operations of the week. The first flight, heading to Toowoomba (WTB) as ZL5662, took 27 minutes to cover the 82-mile (132km) route. However, this short sector was just the first of a multi-sector day for the airplane. Next, it would depart Toowoomba at 09:09 and head 350 miles (560km) inland to the small town of Charleville (CTL) before heading a further 125 miles (200km) westwards to Quilpie (ULP), landing at 11:45.
Just 21 minutes later, the aircraft was off again heading to Windorah (WNR), situated 129 miles (206km) to the north on a flight lasting 53 minutes. At 13:29, VH-ZLQ took off on its fifth sector of the day, heading on a 50-minute flight to Birdsville (BVI) some 210 miles (336km) further west. A short hop from Birdsville to Bedourie (BEU) followed – a distance of just 107 miles (171km) taking 29 minutes.
Having already completed six flights and covered 1,003 miles (1,600km) so far in a single day, the last two sectors of the day would be disrupted for unknown reasons. Rather than completing its milk run service in full by operating a short flight from Bedourie to Boulia (BQL) and onto the run’s official terminating point at Mount Isa, Queensland, the aircraft routed directly to Mount Isa (ISA) instead – a direct distance of 253 miles (404km).
After a well-earned overnight rest for both aircraft and crew in Mount Isa, the following day would see VH-ZLQ route back along the milk run route, following the reversal of the previous day’s flights but this time stopping at Boulia but missing out calls at Windorah and Bedourie. The aircraft eventually arrived back at its Brisbane base at 16:46 on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, having already flown 12 sectors in the first two days of the week.
The next day would see VH-ZLQ set off another of the Rex Airlines mill run services from Brisbane, following a route that would see it fly west from Brisbane to Toowoomba to St George (SGO), on to Cunnamulla (CMA), and finally to Thargomindah (XTG) where the route ends, measuring a total flying distance from Brisbane of 573 miles (917km). The aircraft then returned along the entire route landing back in Brisbane at 16:41 on January 23, 2025.
The next two days would see VH-ZLQ return to the Mount Isa milk run once again, accumulating another 14 sectors and arriving back in Brisbane on January 24, 2025, at 16:43. After five days of flying, completing 34 sectors and covering around 4,000 miles (6,400km), the aircraft the enjoyed two days’ rest in Brisbane and undergoing some routine maintenance before starting the following week’s work with a roundtrip flight to Roma (RMA) in Queensland.
A busy week crossing Europe
Ryanair’s Boeing 737 MAX-8200 Ei-IFY started the selected week for this article in Madrid, Spain. Taking off at 07:22 local time on January 20, 2024, the aircraft set off bound for the airline’s main base at Dublin Airport (DUB) in the Republic of Ireland. This 902-mile (1,443km) flight would be the first of 35 sectors that the plane would operate during the week, offering a total capacity of 6,895 seats over the seven days.
Having landed at Dublin at 08:36 local time, the aircraft was soon back on its way into Europe operating the return flight back to Madrid (MAD). The rest of the day would see EI-IFY operate rotations from the Spanish airport to Rome (FCO) followed by Palma De Mallorca (PMI) in the Balearic Islands, with great circle sector lengths of 829 miles (1,326km) and 341 miles (564km) respectively.
The following day would take EI-IFY on return flights from Madrid to Porto (OPO), Milan (MXP), and Naples (NAP), with sector lengths of 273 miles (344km), 715 miles (1,144km), and 937 miles (1,499km) respectively. Wednesday, January 22, 2025, would see the airplane visit Naples once again, before returning to Madrid. It would then be deployed on an 807-mile (1,291km) Ryanair service to London-Stansted Airport (STN) where it would be based for the remainder of the week.
Arriving at Stansted at 18:35 local time on January 22, 2025, the aircraft would night-stop at the airport before setting off the following morning at 06:33 for a flight to Bari (BRI) in Italy, a sector length of 1,078 miles (1,724km) and marking the second flight of the week that exceeded a great circle length of 1,000 miles (1,600km). The rest of that day would take the airplane on a 1,614-mile (2,582km) roundtrip to Madrid and back.
Friday, January 24, 2025, would see EI-IFY fly return trips from Stansted to Riga in Latvia (RIX), Venice (VCE), and Brno (BRQ) in Czechia, with return lengths of 1,013 miles (1,620km), 707 miles (1,131km), and 748 miles (1,196km) respectively.
With 23 sectors already completed by the weekend, the aircraft carried on performing multi-sector days. Saturday, January 25, 2025, started with a return flight to Rome-Ciampino (CIA), followed by others to Luxembourg (LUX), and Catania (CTA), adding another six sectors and racking up further miles to its total. With the last day of the week at hand, Sunday, January 26, 2025, would take EI-IFY from Stansted to Helsinki (HEL), Ostrava (OSR), and Turin (TRN) before ending its week back at Stansted.
With its working week over, a quick analysis shows that the aircraft covered around 25,000 miles (40,000km) and if using Ryanair’s latest published load factor figure of 88%, will have likely carried around 6,100 passengers throughout the seven days. With 20 airports visited and 35 flights completed, the analysis certainly shows how low-cost carriers such as Ryanair work their assets hard to ensure the maximum return for their investment in the airplane, facilitating short turnarounds and operating between six and eight revenue sectors per day, every day.
United’s transcontinental workhorse
United Airlines first introduced the Airbus A321neo into its fleet in October 2023 and at the time of writing, now operates 29 of the type. The carrier tends to use its examples on longer transcontinental routes, as the aircraft offer passengers an enhanced onboard experience which is of more benefit on longer stage lengths.
The aircraft followed for this article, N54525 is no exception to that general rule. The airplane started the week on Monday, January 20, 2025, at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in California where it took off at 09:41 local time for a three hour and 43 minutes flight to Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD), the airline’s primary US hub, and the location for its global headquarters. This flight had a distance of 1,846 miles (2,954km) routing eastwards straight across the central states before arriving in the ‘Windy City’ at 15:14 local time.
With the turnaround complete, the aircraft next headed back west to Las Vegas-Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Nevada, clocking up another 1,514 miles (2,422km). About four hours later, the aircraft would head back to Chicago once more on a so-called red-eye overnight transcontinental flight, arriving in Chicago at 05:55 on the morning of Tuesday, January 21, 2025. The plane would next leave as UA1803 bound for Denver International Airport (DEN) in Colorado, an 888-mile (1,421km) sector.
Having arrived in Denver, N54525 proceeded westwards on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, a sector of 862 miles (1,380km). From Los Angeles, the aircraft would route back to Chicago before turning around overnight and heading straight back to California the following morning as UA660 on January 23, 2025, to San Diego (SAN) with a trip length of 1,723 miles (1,379km). The remainder of that day would see N54525 fly from San Diego to Denver and onwards to Houston-George Bush International Airport (IAH) where the plane would night stop.
On Friday, January 25, 2025, the aircraft would depart Houston back to Chicago once more as UA411 before heading for sunnier climes as UA1857 to Miami International Airport (MIA) in Florida, a 1,197-mile (1,915km) flight lasting two hours and 48 minutes. Once in Miami, the aircraft would head back to Chicago before beginning another transcontinental flight back to Los Angeles on the west coast.
Over the next 24 hours, the aircraft would operate two roundtrip services between Los Angeles and Denver, before heading up to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) for the first time during the week. On Sunday, January 26, 2025, the aircraft would head back to Denver before operating its final transcontinental service of the week to Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL), ending its seven days of flying on the ground at the Florida airport.
Over the week, N54525 operated 22 sectors with a total distance flown of around 27,000 miles (43,200km) and an average sector length of 1,227 miles (1,963km). The aircraft visited ten different airports and potentially could fly 4,400 passengers on its 22 transcontinental services. The average time in the air per flight for N54525 was two hours and 12 minutes.
Singaporean long-hauler
Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10 9V-SDA started the week of January 20, 2025, at Beijing-Capital International Airport (PEK) before operating flight SQ801 back to Singapore – a flight covering a distance of 2,780 miles (4,448km) and lasting five hours and 42 minutes. Having been turned around at Changi Airport, the aircraft soon headed off towards Perth (PER) in Western Australia as SQ215 where it landed in the early hours of January 21, 2025.
Having spent around five hours on the ground in Perth, the aircraft headed back once again to Singapore as SQ216 taking around four hours and 46 minutes to fly the 2,421 miles (3,873km). A quick rotation to Denpasar (DPS) in Bali would follow for 9V-SDA, with each sector lasting around two hours and 15 minutes. The aircraft would end the day flying back to Beijing as SQ806 taking five hours and 46 minutes to complete the journey to the Chinese capital.
Having flown back to Singapore on the morning of January 22, 2025, the aircraft would soon be back in China, next operating a flight from Singapore to Guangzhou (CAN), a flight taking three hours and 41 minutes. Upon its return to Singapore late that day, the plane would then be despatched to Dhaka (DAC) in Bangladesh on a flight that covered 1,794 miles (2,870km) in three hours and 26 minutes. The plane would return to Singapore early in the morning of January 23, 2025.
Over the following days, the airplane would revisit some of the airports that it had visited earlier in the week. This included operating rotations to Guangzhou (twice), Dakar (once), and Denpasar (twice). Over the seven days, the aircraft operated 25 sectors and visited six airports including Singapore. The total distance flown equated to around 33,000 miles (52,800km) with the average sector duration being around three hours and 12 minutes. The total capacity flown was 8,425 seats.
Summary
As we have seen, the life of a commercial aircraft is anything but typical. Taking any random four aircraft, one will always end up with a pattern of flights and operations that will be unique to that particular aircraft for the period analyzed. While the routes operated, passengers carried, distances flown and time in the air will vary between aircraft, the ultimate aim for any of these aircraft will always lie on common ground – that is to operate safely, on time, and to deliver their passengers to their chosen destination with as little inconvenience as possible.
While this article has examined just how diverse a week in the life of a commercial passenger airplane can be, no two weeks will be the same, even if you follow the same aircraft week after week, month after month.
So, the next time you fly, once you arrive at your departure gate to find your aircraft sitting on the apron outside the window waiting for you to board, just imagine for a moment all the places that plane has been in the preceding few hours, days, and weeks. And while your journey on it may only be relatively short, long after you disembark at the end of that journey, your aircraft will fly on, carrying many more passengers and visiting other airports around its network, as it continues its active flying career, plowing the routes to which it has been assigned.
