Jeju Air flight 7C2216, which caused a significant number of casualties during its landing at Muan International Airport, was reportedly a model initially operated by Ryanair before being leased to Jeju Air in 2017.
On Sunday, The New York Times cited data from aviation analytics firm Cirium and reported that the aircraft involved in the incident (Boeing 737-800) was first operated by the European budget airline Ryanair. In 2017, it was leased to Jeju Air by SMBC Aviation Capital, a commercial aircraft leasing company.
The Boeing 737-800 model, currently in service worldwide, has a lifespan of 5 to over 27 years. The Jeju Air passenger plane involved in the Muan Airport incident was identified as 15 years old.
The New York Times reports that approximately 4,400 of the roughly 28,000 passenger aircraft operating globally are Boeing 737-800 models, representing about 15% of the total.
Currently, around 200 airlines worldwide operate the Boeing 737-800. These include Jeju Air, T’way Air, Jin Air, Eastar Jet, and Korean Air in South Korea.
