A term that you may or may not have come across in the world of commercial aviation is that of fleet commonality. This refers to shared characteristics between different aircraft types within a given operator’s fleet. Such parallels can have numerous operational advantages, and are a key reason why low-cost carriers tend to favor fleets with a single aircraft family.
What is fleet commonality?
At face value, commonality between aircraft types is a fairly simple concept, concerning models that bear parallels. However, it can be more diverse than expected depending on the way in which a company defines such commonality. At a basic level, this can concern aircraft from the same family, such as that shared between the Airbus A320neo and A321neo.
However, there are other ways in which different aircraft types can also be considered to share a degree of commonality. For example, you might find strong parallels between different aircraft families, such as the Airbus A330 and A340 series. These have many structural similarities, with key differences being the A340’s four engines and landing gear.
Aircraft can also be considered to have commonality on even more niche levels, such as their engines. Past operators of the Boeing 747, 757, and 767 will have had greater operational flexibility when it came to engine maintenance, as these all used the Rolls-Royce RB211. This was also the case for the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and the Tupolev Tu-204.
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Why is it advantageous?
So what are the advantages for airlines when it comes to flying aircraft with such parallels? As alluded to above, fleet commonality can help streamline maintenance procedures. This can save carriers money, as well as allowing their maintenance operations to become more specialized. Commonality also benefits operations when it comes to crew rostering.
Indeed, common type ratings mean that pilots of certain aircraft can also be certified on other designs with minimal retraining if they share enough parallels. An example of this is the common type rating that the Boeing 777 has with the 787. This is why fairly uniform fleets can be advantageous, as they can expedite aircraft swaps in the event of maintenance issues. This is especially important at low-cost carriers, where turnaround times are faster.
Commonality between narrowbodies and widebodies
As is evident upon viewing such planes, there are significant structural differences between widebody and narrowbody aircraft. As such, it would not be unreasonable to assume that there would be little in the way of parallels when it comes to these types of jets. However, in certain instances, the crossover is greater than you might otherwise expect.
The most notable example of this is the crossover between the single-aisle Boeing 757 and the widebody 767 families. In fact, these two seemingly different twinjet designs even share a common type rating, meaning that pilots of one only require minimal training to fly the other. The reason for this is that they were developed together, and subsequently share various operational aspects, such as similar wings and cockpit systems.
Did you know about the concept of fleet commonality? Do you prefer airlines with uniform or more diverse fleets? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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