oldest aircraft still in service

Oldest Aircraft Still In Service - The day was a big celebration for Boeing and the thousands of spectators at Everett Payne Field, north of Seattle.

The first aircraft delivered was the N733PA to Pan Am as "Clipper Young America"​​which entered service on December 13, 1969.

Oldest Aircraft Still In Service

The 747 has become one of the greatest success stories in civil aviation, with more than 1,500 examples built to date in multiple variants.

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We thought we'd take a look at the oldest Boeing 747s still in existence, and even the oldest still flying.

You'll notice that the ten oldest Boeing 747s are the original -100 models. But later -200, -300, -400 and SP versions were released. So where are the older versions of them that we can see?

N303TW (20116/112) is the oldest -200 model still in existence at the time of writing. It is preserved in Victorville, California and interestingly, the upper floor has the old style three windows, which were later added in the 200s.

The oldest surviving example of the -200 is the ZS-SAN (20239/160) of South African Airways. It is on display at the Aviation Museum in Rand, South Africa.

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The earliest active example, albeit a slightly modified version of the -200, is the US Air Force E-4B fleet based at Omaha AFB and dated 1973 as 73-1676 (20682/202).

At the time of this writing, the oldest 747-300 still in existence is the N792BA (23026/580), which previously flew with Ansett Australia and is now in poor condition at Marana Pinal Airpark.

Orient Thai Airways' second oldest aircraft, HS-UTW (23067/588), is also in storage at Bangkok Don Mueang Airport, Thailand.

Mahan Air in Iran still has a Boeing 747-300, EP-MND (23413/632), which is active and flies outside of the airline's schedules out of Tehran. This is your last chance to fly a classic 747.

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A smaller "Special Performance" version of the 747 was built in much smaller numbers but continued to operate for a long time.

In fact, an example still flying as NASA's SOFIA flying observatory is the N747NA (21441/306) based at Edwards AFB, California.

At the time of this writing, the oldest models still existing in Iran Air's recently retired fleet are stored at Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport. They are EP-IAA (20998/275), EP-IAB (20999/278), EP-IAC (21093/307), EP-IAD (21758/371).

Still common around the world, airlines are constantly downsizing and retiring their 747-400 fleets. Many find a new life as truck drivers.

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The earliest example is the N661US prototype (23719/696), originally flown for Northwest Airlines and later Delta Airlines. It is now on display at the Delta Heritage Museum in Atlanta after being retired in 2016.

British Airways recently announced that it will retire its fleet of 747-400s by February 2024, but not before painting some examples in historic colors to celebrate their 100th anniversary.

Today, the Boeing 747 continues in production in the -8 model, designed mainly as a freighter for the world's cargo airlines, but the pace of production has slowed considerably compared to the previous days. Airbus announced several years ago that it would end production of the A380. The last aircraft will roll off the production line this year.

248 A380s have been delivered since entering production in 2003, with the first order delivered fourteen years ago in October 2007.

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Boeing recently announced that it will end production of the 747 in 2022... although its lifespan lasts an impressive 50 years with over 1,500 deliveries!

It got me thinking; What are the oldest commercial planes that fly? Is the 50-year-old 747 still in service?

I used the airfleets.net production list search for every major aircraft type I still fly. airfleets.net reports aircraft status, including last booked flight, but these dates seem to be manually submitted by users (some are very old). So I checked the dates on flyradar24.com.

I believe the planes are still in service if they flew in 2020 - my guess is most were temporarily grounded due to reduced air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only aircraft that made their first flight before 1990 are considered.

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Older 747s and A300s seem to be going out of service relatively quickly - the oldest planes still flying are 14 years older than the first models that flew.

In contrast, the 737 has an incredibly long life, with some older versions still in service, having been delivered just 6 years longer than the model's first commercial flight (and first delivered before the 747 and A300).

Currently operated by Nolinor Aviation, the C-GNLK 737 has been flying for over 47 years, 10 years longer than any other model.

The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and MD-11 do not make this list, but only because I consider commercial airlines carrying passengers. Currently, these aircraft are only operated by the Air Force and logistics companies. FedEx N303FE, operated by a 48.1 year old DC-10!

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I've also only included the major manufacturers that I know of and are listed on AirFleets. I would have to check if there are airlines that fly from other manufacturers that I don't know about (I think Russia might exist).

Finally, I considered only one plan of each model. Remember, 26% of all commercial airliners are 737s – many of those older models are still flying. People have been flying older planes for decades and would never know the difference. Sometimes old school is best school, and after looking at this collection of the oldest commercial passenger jets still in service, it's hard to disagree.

Older planes were built when oil was very cheap compared to today. It was impossible for airlines to profit from Boeing 707s these days.

Why do some older aircraft fly on some airlines? Some airlines even buy entire fleets of a certain type, such as Nolinor Aviation and its Boeing 737-200 fleet.

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Compared to cars, for example, planes can last longer for several reasons. First, the aircraft are designed for ease of maintenance and are always maintained according to a strict maintenance schedule. Pilots are trained specifically for their planes and don't make stupid mistakes that ruin the plane's lifespan.

There are several reasons why airlines use older aircraft. One of the places where older aircraft often fly is in remote areas of Canada. There are remote settlements here, and mining operations require constant transport of people and goods.

Because of the permafrost in these areas of northern Canada, asphalt runways cannot be built, so airlines are forced to use gravel runways for their operations. Many aircraft are not suitable for such operations. The Boeing 737-200 is equipped with a gravel. I explain what a gravel pack is and how it works in the article.

Some airlines, such as Delta, still operate a fleet of Boeing 757s. Despite being one of the oldest aircraft still in service today, the 757 was a very modern aircraft and more fuel efficient than its competitors at the time of your introduction. This shows that it is still a relatively competitive aircraft.

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Pilots say the 757 was a joy to fly in part because of the Rolls Royce engines fitted. As a passenger, you could be lucky enough to be on one of the new planes in service today.

Some airlines have commercial aircraft that have been around for a long time. While not necessarily posing safety issues, some aircraft are surprisingly old. Here are nine old commercial planes that are still in service.

Air Inuit is headquartered in Quebec, Canada. Provides domestic, charter and cargo services across multiple sectors. The airline has operated since 1978 after purchasing a single De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver. Soon the company also acquired the DHC-3, two twin Ants and a single Otter.

In 1988, the company acquired the De Havilland Canada DHC-8-100, better known as the Dash-8. The model aircraft started with a prototype that first flew in 1983 and entered service with NorOntairon on October 23, 1984.

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The series went through several changes when Air Inuit bought the one they were working on, so this aircraft has stood the test of time.

Jet2's Boeing 757-200 has been in the flying market since 1987. It has not always been part of the Jet2 chain, as it was previously owned and operated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, followed by China Southern Airlines. Jet2 acquired the aircraft in 2006.

The plane may still not look clean, but the Jet2's seasonal operating style may have something to do with that. Although the aircraft is not the oldest commercial flight ever, it does have the honor of being the oldest registered in the UK.

Jet2 operates a low-cost commercial airline offering scheduled and charter flights within the UK. It is the third largest airline

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