Last Chance to Fly Rare and Historic Airliners Still in Use 1 Version Date: 26 August 2020 Digital Update 2020 The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the Publisher, who also disclaims any liability incurred in connection with the use of specific details or content within this book. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-copying, scanning, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. © 2020 Destinworld Publishing Ltd Published by Destinworld Publishing Ltd. www.destinworld.com 2 Contents Introduction 4 Douglas DC-3/C-47 56 Airbus A300 5 Douglas DC-4 59 Airbus A310 7 Douglas DC-9 60 Airbus A318 8 Embraer 110 Bandeirante 61 Airbus A340 9 Embraer 120 Brasilia 63 Antonov An-12 14 Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner 66 Antonov An-24/26 15 Fokker 50 68 Antonov An-72/74 17 Fokker 70 70 Antonov An-140 18 Fokker 100 72 Antonov An-148/158 19 Ford Tri-Motor 75 Beechcraft 18 21 Grumman G-21 Goose 76 Beechcraft 99 22 Ilyushin IL-18 77 Boeing 717 23 Ilyushin IL-62 78 Boeing 737-200 25 Ilyushin IL-76 79 Boeing 737-600 27 Ilyushin IL-96-300 80 Boeing 747-300 28 Let L-410 81 Boeing 747-400 29 Lisunov Li-2 85 Boeing 757-300 32 McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90 Series 86 Boeing 767-200 34 Saab 340 89 British Aerospace 146/Avro RJ 36 Saab 2000 92 British Aerospace Jetstream 43 Short 360 93 Convair 440/580 47 Tupolev Tu-134 94 de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide 48 Tupolev Tu-154 95 de Havilland DH.104 Dove 49 Tupolev Tu-204/214 96 de Havilland DH.114 Heron 50 Xian/AVIC MA60 97 de Havilland Canada DHC-7 51 Yakovlev Yak-40 99 Dornier 228 52 Yakovlev Yak-42 101 Dornier 328 54 Gone But Not Forgotten 102 3 Introduction Welcome to the digital update of Last Chance to Fly – the enthusiast’s guide to finding and flying on rare and historic airliners around the world. Experiencing flight on an older aircraft can be a memorable experience, particularly on aircraft which are truly historic. Even flying an aircraft type which was prevalent in our younger days but is now a rare sight can bring back great memories of the sounds and smells of a previous generation of airliner. Moving this book into a digital format distributed through www.AirportSpotting.com allows us to keep updates regular in the fast changing world of aviation. The Scope of Aircraft Listed Since the first edition of this book appeared in 2011 many classic airliners have ceased flying passengers altogether. Particularly types such as the Boeing 707 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11. The second edition of the book in 2017 added and removed types. In the recent Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent downturn in aviation, more airliner types have become rarer, and many are now added to this digital edition of the book, first released in late 2020. As always, our research has been thorough. Yet we accept there may be errors, and since change occurs so rapidly in the airline industry we cannot be held responsible for aircraft types being retired by airlines following the book’s publication. Updates Please forward any updates, corrections and missing details for future editions to: [email protected] 4 Airbus A300 First flying in 1972, the A300 was the first product of the new Airbus consortium in Europe, and one of a new range of widebody airliners emerging; in fact, it was the world’s first twin-aisle widebody airliner. The B1 was the initial design, but after only two examples the B2 became the initial standard. Quickly becoming the standard production model of the Airbus A300, the B4 was first flown in 1974. Later models include the A300B4-600 which had newer engines and increased seating capacity through using part of the A310 fuselage. Most flying examples today are freighters. Asia & Middle East The only place to fly on an Airbus A300 now is in Iran and Eastern Europe. Iran Air Operates a mixed fleet of A300s, including a single historic A300B2, three A300B4-200 and four B4- 605R. Many are thought to be parked. These fly mostly domestic, Middle Eastern and occasional European routes out of Tehran’s two airports. Iran Air Tour Similarly, Iran Air’s subsidiary also operates four Airbus A300B4-605R aircraft on domestic routes from Tehran Mehrabad airport. Mahan Air Still operates five Airbus A300B4-603 mostly on internal routes within Iran and occasionally to places like Dubai, UAE. 5 Meraj Air Operates two A300B4-622R examples, EP-SIF and EP-SIG, on domestic routes from Tehran Mehrabad, and internationally from the Tehran IKA to Istanbul. Qeshm Air Operates five A300B4-605R examples in a very smart colour scheme, but many seem to be parked at the moment. They operate some domestic routes, and international routes to Istanbul, Tbilisi etc. 6 Airbus A310 Paul Spijkers [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)] Technically a variant of the A300 (the A300B10), the A310 features a shorter fuselage and tail fin, and a new wing design. It was offered initially in the -200 variant, with the -300 becoming standard later. Production of the A310 ran from 1983 to 1998, during which time 255 aircraft were built. Most today fly for FedEx Express as freighters, however some examples still carry passengers. Asia & Middle East Ariana Afghan Airlines Not an airline we would recommend flying on, they have one active Airbus A310, YA-CAV. It flies from Kabul on domestic routes, as well as to Istanbul, Delhi, Jeddah, Riyadh and other destinations. Iran Air Continues to operate two A310-300s on some domestic and Middle Eastern routes out of Tehran. Mahan Air This airline has a fleet of seven A310s at the time of writing, but some are parked. They fly from Tehran’s two airports on domestic routes, as well as internationally to the likes of Beijing, Damascus, Dhaka, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen. 7 Airbus A318 Few airlines now fly the Airbus A318 – the smallest member of the A320 family of aircraft. Originally envisaged as a competitor to regional jets for airlines with crews already trained on the A319/20, sales were not forthcoming at a large scale, with airlines preferring true regional jet types. They have enjoyed some success as corporate jets. Sadly the famous British Airways BA001 route from London City to New York JFK utilising an Airbus A318 has recently been retired. One of its two aircraft now flies for Titan Airways mostly on corporate charter work. Europe Air France The largest operator of the type. Air France flies its fleet of 18 A318s on scheduled services out of Paris Charles de Gaulle to domestic and European destinations. TAROM The Romanian airline operates 4 examples from Bucharest to African and European destinations, including Amsterdam, Athens, Cairo, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Munich and Paris. 8 Airbus A340 <A340-Etihad.jpg> Developed alongside the Airbus A330, the A340 was part of the European manufacturer’s bid to steal a chunk of the long-haul market from Boeing at a time when airlines were retiring older Lockheed L1011s and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s from service. It was believed four engines would be more popular with passengers on long overseas flights, however changes in Extended Twin Operations (ETOPS) rules allowing twin aircraft to fly further meant the A330 (and its rivals) were always more popular than the A340, which was more expensive to operate. Models of A340 included the original -200, closely followed by the -300. Later, the long-range, higher capacity -500 and -600 variants entered the scene, offering a slight renaissance for the type. However, many airlines have now replaced their aircraft with newer generation twins. A340-200 Andres Ramirez [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) or GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)] 9 South America ConViasa Aside from a few VIP and government examples, the only passenger operator of the A340-200 today is ConViasa, based at Caracas in Venezuela. Not a recommended airline to fly on, its aircraft do appear on some interesting routes, linking the wayward country with Iran and some other destinations. Airbus A340-300 Africa Air Madagascar Operates two A340-300s on its principal long-haul services from Antananarivo to Paris and Marseille (one is leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic). Air Mauritius Still flies two examples, which will imminently be replaced by A350-900s. They can usually be found linking Port Louis with Johannesburg, London, Paris and Rome. Asia & Middle East Iran Aseman Airlines This Iranian carrier has a single A340-300, ER-APA, which flies usually between Tehran and Istanbul. 10 Kam Air An Afghanistan airline which has four A340-300s in its fleet. They fly from Kabul and Kandahar mostly to Middle Eastern destinations and on Hajj flights Mahan Air Three A340-300s work alongside its -600s on routes from Tehran to Dubai, Istanbul, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow and others. Syrianair Not one that is recommended, but included for completeness. Syrianair has two former Mahan Air and Olympic Airlines A340-300 aircraft which link Damascus with destinations in Africa and the Middle East.