There is a fine balance to be made between higher the operating costs of older airplanes (i.e. increased maintenance, greater fuel burn, lower reliability, etc.) and the costs of acquiring new airplanes (high lease rates, capital tied up, etc). Northwest got it right in an environment where there were plenty of older airplanes available and therefore resale rates were low. However, they are more vulnerable than some other airlines to higher oil prices, and a sustained or further hike in oil prices could be more damaging to NW than to some of the operators of newer and more efficient a/c. Only time will tell, but NW and CO prove that both strategies can work.
Andy
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