Rare planes you can fly: 2017

OlafW · Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:23 am

KentB27 wrote:
Does anyone know if Iran Aseman is still flying their 727s? I can't seem to find any current info on them.

I flew on one of their supposedly 4 727s last month. They appear on many domestic routes, including at least Tehran, Mashad, Shiraz, Rasht and Yazd. Once you goto Iran, have a look at http://asemanbooking.com/EN/ where you can find fairly reliable timetables including the equipment used. Note: Usually the equipment listed as Boeing is a 727, but they recently added 734s to their fleet, so there is a slight chance of not getting what you want.

Not mentioned so far: Boeing 747-300 - one still active with Mahan Air on deomstic routes, mostly between Tehran and Mashad. It's only loaded in the Mahan timetable for the coming two weeks or so from the date on which you are looking. Seems the use gets extended on and on, but apparently it is due for removal from the fleet soon.

Mahan Air also has 5 or 6 346s in their fleet now which are used on the long haul international network. Offers came up between from MUC to Iran or SE Asia for quite decent prices recently.

AIS also uses their Jetstreams in Germany on FMO-STR rotations, but quite pricey.

Does anyone know if the MD83 and 87 of DAT are used on scheduled routes or only charter?

edina · Tue Nov 01, 2016 10:20 am

The Saab 2000 in BA colours (op by Eastern) between IOM and LCY......talking of the IOM, you could also catch a trip on a Citywing LET-410.

fallap · Tue Nov 01, 2016 10:53 am

Trade Air is flying the Fokker 100 on behalf of Croatian Airlines. I flew CPH - Zagreb two weeks ago on the Fokker 100

Peeter · Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:46 pm

MalevTU134 wrote:
Emirates77W wrote:
For the Airbus A340-300: Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Air Mauritius, Air Madagascar, Air France, Air Tahiti Nui, Aerolineas Argentinas
A340-500: Etihad, Arik Air, AZAL
A340-600 :Lufthansa, Etihad, AZAL, Iberia, Qatar Airways, South African Airways, Virgin Atlantic

A318: Air France, Avianca, British Airways, TAROM.

For the -300 add 9V (Avior Airlines)

Add SAS to that list too. They operate 8.

EDIT: Just saw that this was mentioned earlier – sorry.

ryan78 · Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:22 pm

KentB27 wrote:
caribb wrote:
Don't forget the good ol'A310. Air Transat out of Canada.

Yes and I have not heard them say anything about when they're retiring them yet.

Air Transat plans to start phasing out the A310 in 2018 and have them completely phased out by 2020, C-GTSY is almost 29 years old according to planespotters.net. Word is they will be replaced by A330's and some of the older A330's will be replaced with newer ones as well.

Also Air Azores/SATA still has 3 A310's flying, however they are in worse shape then the Transat ones, they are really starting to show their age.

initious · Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:43 pm

It seems like no one has mentioned the Xian MA60 yet. Cambodia Bayon Air flies them PNH-REP on multiple flights daily.

jaxfss · Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:21 pm

You guys are talking about modern airplanes Want to ride in an real airplane. EAA has a Ford Tri-Motor barnstorming the country. $80 gets you a wicker seat and if your lucky enough $125 gets you the right seat. It's about a 20 min. flight and you can see some of the engine instruments on the wing struts. The Collins Foundation has a B-25 plus a B-24 and B-17.The last time I looked at them it was $375 for the B-25 and $450 for the B-17 and B-24 for a 30 min. ride. I believe the EAA has some old bombers flying rides along with the Commerative Air Force. Some of the airlines with retro piston planes sometimes gives rides.

LH748 · Tue Nov 01, 2016 8:30 pm

For the 343 TAP is also still an option. I'm lucky to get one of their last ones in the fleet on LIS-MIA-LIS

PatrickZ80 · Tue Nov 01, 2016 9:00 pm

ryan78 wrote:
I don't think there are any PAX Fokker 28's left flying around, mostly military or government, and even those are rare to find.

FlySAX still has one F-28 flying pax around in Kenya, out of their hub in Nairobi. They also got a DC-9-15 that was originally delivered to TWA in 1966, but they hardly use it anymore so there's little chance to fly it. But it's one of the oldest DC-9's still around.

CrimsonNL · Tue Nov 01, 2016 9:55 pm

opticalilyushin wrote:

Jetstreams - Eastern Airways are the biggest J41 user, but tickets can be pricey, also Yeti in Nepal, where you can fly in beautiful scenery

The 31 and 32 are both doable in Europe on Sun Air. I think their 31 is mostly seen around AAL or AAR. The 32 is usually flying to BLL, I got it on DUS-BLL. Also as was pointed out with AIS Airlines.

The 41 I got with SkyExpress Greece, which is not very well known. The flight I was on (HER-JSH) was 15 minutes, but only 32 euros. They do fly some rather long inter-island routes in Greece with the 41 for reasonable fares.

MalevTU134 wrote:

How about RO's 310s? Still flying or retired?

The last one, LCA, was retired this week..

Martijn

longhauler · Tue Nov 01, 2016 9:59 pm

jaxfss wrote:
You guys are talking about modern airplanes Want to ride in an real airplane. EAA has a Ford Tri-Motor barnstorming the country. $80 gets you a wicker seat and if your lucky enough $125 gets you the right seat. It's about a 20 min. flight and you can see some of the engine instruments on the wing struts. The Collins Foundation has a B-25 plus a B-24 and B-17.The last time I looked at them it was $375 for the B-25 and $450 for the B-17 and B-24 for a 30 min. ride. I believe the EAA has some old bombers flying rides along with the Commerative Air Force. Some of the airlines with retro piston planes sometimes gives rides.

Hell yeah!

How about the Canadian Warplane Heritage in Hamilton, Ontario? For a fee (some of it tax deductible) you can ride in a DC-3, Beech 18, Norseman, Tiger Moth, Stearman, B-25, Canso, etc etc etc.

Not to mention ... get this ... ride in an Avro Lancaster!

edmaircraft · Wed Nov 02, 2016 1:26 am

diverted wrote:
edmaircraft wrote:
The 737-200 can be found in Nolinor, Canadian North, and Air Inuit; 737-300 under Canadian North, 737-400 from Flair Airlines/NewLeaf, 737-500 of Air North, 737-600 from WS...is the RJ85 considered rare? Those are under Summit Air. These all visit YEG and YYC every once in a while.

There's a lot of interesting stuff in the north. 5T and others with the 732 gravel kitted combis, 7F with the 734 combis, atr combis, and until recently the L382 Hercules, 4N's HS 748, Summit's RJ85's, Then there's borek with their Basler's, Buffalo with their DC-3s, C-46s, and L-188s.

Indeed. Travelled to Yellowknife two summers ago and went to YZF to take some pictures...loved the variety.

blandy62 · Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:44 am

Fokker70: if you are in indonesia, Transnusa has one in operation. It operates a daily flight HLP-DUM-HLP

Air Nuigini also had a few former KLM machines in operation

Fokker50: Transnusa has 5 planes in operation mostly in eastern indonesia (some out of DPS)

Bae 146-100: Skyjet has one in operation in Philippines

SAAB2000: you can do a quick ZHV-GVA-ZHR flioght if your are in Switzerland

jfkflyer · Wed Nov 02, 2016 2:48 am

Anyone know where CI can catch a 734 in the USA

PatrickZ80 · Wed Nov 02, 2016 6:20 pm

jfkflyer wrote:
Anyone know where CI can catch a 734 in the USA

That's easy, try Alaska Airlines.

ryan78 · Wed Nov 02, 2016 8:28 pm

jfkflyer wrote:
Anyone know where CI can catch a 734 in the USA

Xtra Airways, SkyKing/Songbird, Vision Airlines, Swift Air, Miami Air International, these are just the ones off the top of my head. Many do charters for Apple Vacations and Vacation Express and a few of the Cuba charters as well, although those are probably going to stop soon with scheduled service being introduced to the island.

Yflyer · Wed Nov 02, 2016 8:35 pm

PatrickZ80 wrote:
jfkflyer wrote:
Anyone know where CI can catch a 734 in the USA

That's easy, try Alaska Airlines.

But you'd better act soon -- they've said they plan to retire them by the end of 2017.

NDiesel · Wed Nov 02, 2016 8:57 pm

ChristopherS wrote:
NDiesel wrote:
jfkflyer wrote:
Thankyou! Where can we catch the BAE?

I flew the BAe146 with Swiss a couple of weeks ago on FLR-ZRH. Quite a fun plane to fly on, actually.

I'm pretty sure you flew the Avro RJ 100. There are quite a few of those in Europe, but not many B146s.

I stand corrected! My mistake.

seat64k · Thu Nov 03, 2016 5:17 pm

SeaDoo wrote:
For the Airbus 340-500/600:
Iberia (according to wiki 17 A340-600)

When poking around on Iberia's site I found some flights indicated with A340-500. This was a surprise to me as wikipedia doesn't show any. So is this a typo on the site or is wikipedia missing information?

opticalilyushin · Thu Nov 03, 2016 9:50 pm

The 'A340-500' in Iberia is just a 600 with a different seating configuration. They're all 600s

aerorobnz · Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:13 am

The easiest way to get the 146 is StarPeru. They have -100,-200 and -300. A fleet of 10. LIM-CUZ rtn will likely get both the -100 and -200, while LIM-IQT gets the larger -300

seat64k · Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:59 pm

opticalilyushin wrote:
The 'A340-500' in Iberia is just a 600 with a different seating configuration. They're all 600s

Interesting, thanks!

aeromoe · Sat Nov 05, 2016 3:02 am

Alaska Airlines still operate several 737-400 Combi within Alaska and down to Seattle, as well as 737-400 to a fair number of cities. For the A310 there is also Azores Airlines flying to Toronto from PDL on Santa Maria Island I believe.

Just my cents worth...

Moe

aeromoe · Sat Nov 05, 2016 3:03 am

Oh, and Great Lakes does fly Embraer 120s out of Denver.

Moe

MHG · Sun Nov 06, 2016 2:14 pm

For Antonov AN-24 and occasionally Yakovlev YAK-40 Motor Sich Airlines of Ukraine is a safe bet (their single Antonov AN-140 is normally on the Kiev-Odessa route but may be used on all other routes as well, of course ...)
... and aside from the eastern part of Ukraine the rest of the country is absolutely safe to visit.
Motor Sich staff usually is quite friendly and understanding with aviation geeks.

crv10b3 · Wed Nov 09, 2016 6:01 pm

Two weeks ago I experienced some very nice flights including jump seat /cockpit visits!
Alrosa is maybe the most relaxed Airliner I have ever experienced!
Very friendly people in Russia and great hospitality.
Sometimes photography is forbidden on the ramp but most of all no problem!

DME-PYJ Alrosa Tu-154M
PYJ-IKT Alrosa An-24
CEE-VUS-CEE Severstal Yak-40
LED-VGD-VKO Vologda Enterprise Yak-40
KJA-TOF-KJA Turuhan An-24 (should have been Turuhan Tu-143A-3)
KJA-MJZ Angara An-148-100
MJZ-KJA Alrosa Tu-134B-3

Only four Tu-134's in Airline service in Russia (one Alrosa, three Turuhan)
Turuhan is only charter but sometimes bookable (KJA-TOF-SGC-TOF-KJA)
Only two Tu-154 in Airline service in Russia (Alrosa)
At the moment Sirius-Aero, Kosmos or Turuhan Tú-134's from DME on scheduled flights for KomiInteravia or Rusline.
But this is always a rare and late equipment change.

Enjoy.

Caravelle10B3

Adipasquale · Thu Nov 10, 2016 3:05 am

AH operates 5 736s, and WS has 13 as well. I didn't see it mentioned, but AR has 5 A343s still in service.

airbazar · Fri Nov 11, 2016 12:14 pm

opticalilyushin wrote:
A300/310 - still flyable in Iran, and well worth a visit if even just to see this beautiful and friendly country. Iran Air and in particular Mahan fly them everywhere domestically, aswell as to Europe on certain routes. Transat still flies the A310 Transatlantic too. Tarom just retired theirs, and Kuwait have replaced theirs with the A330.

For a U.S. based traveler, SATA (S4) flies the A310 on a few TATL routes from the U.S. such as BOS-LIS, BOS-PDL, and PVD-PDL. Also from YYZ and OAK seasonally, IIRC. On occasion they also fly it on a few intra-Europe routes but mainly between PDL and LIS.

Emirates77W wrote:
For the Airbus A340-300: Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Air Mauritius, Air Madagascar, Air France, Air Tahiti Nui, Aerolineas Argentinas

+TAP, Finnair, Iberia, Turkish, South African, Swiss.

ual777newpaint · Sat Nov 12, 2016 5:02 am

KL cityhopper actually still operates 13 Fokker 70's, according to Wikipedia. I'm booked onto one on AMS-LHR in a few weeks. 7P (Air Panama) flies Fokker 50's on a few routes. If you're ever in that part of the world, they're an interesting little airline.

Mortyman · Sun Nov 13, 2016 4:18 pm

Airbus 340-300: SAS and Air Tahiti Nui

Boeing 737-600: SAS

neutrino · Mon Nov 14, 2016 4:00 pm

Any airline still operating the NAMC YS-11? The newest bird should be more than forty years old now. I remember my one and only flight on that propliner in 1979, from Manila to Cebu. There's no cockpit door; only a curtain.

PatrickZ80 · Thu Dec 29, 2016 10:10 pm

Unless you're in the Japan Air Force, no. The last civilian YS-11 was with Fil-Asian, but it doesn't fly anymore. The Japan Air Force YS-11s are the only ones still flying, but they're military aircraft.

UgandAir · Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:16 pm

Went on the BAe146 from DRS - LCY on CityJet this summer.

LamboAston · Sun Jan 08, 2017 10:16 am

UgandAir wrote:
Went on the BAe146 from DRS - LCY on CityJet this summer.

That is the RJ85, the updated version which is not as rare (yet)

AirbusA343 · Sun Jan 08, 2017 12:05 pm

SAA A343 from Johannesburg to Hong Kong
EY A346 from Abu Dhabi to Seoul
EY A345 from Abu Dhabi to Rabat (dunno if the A345s are regulars, but the last two on EY615 were A345s)
AF A318 from Paris to Copenhagen/Brest/Milan (LIN airport - AF1312)

MH017 · Thu Jan 19, 2017 1:37 pm

How about the E-110 Bandeirante ?

PatrickZ80 · Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:08 pm

MH017 wrote:
How about the E-110 Bandeirante ?

Abaete in Brazil still operates a few of them. Also Air Rarotonga uses the E-110.

MH017 · Sun Jan 22, 2017 8:23 am

PatrickZ80 wrote:
MH017 wrote:
How about the E-110 Bandeirante ?

Abaete in Brazil still operates a few of them. Also Air Rarotonga uses the E-110.

Abaete seems to do charters only as cannot find a booking tool on their website.
Guess TAG in Guatemala and Northern Airlines in Fiji might be a good alternative too

UnitedIsBae · Sun Jan 22, 2017 5:35 pm

jfkflyer wrote:
Where will be able to fly (In 2017)

the 737-200
737-400
737-500
737-600
a318
a340-300
a340-500/600
md87
Jetstream 31/32
Jetstream 41
bae146
rj85/95/100
do328
do228
do328jet
fokker28
fokker70
fokker100
e110
e120

WestJet has a 737-600 out LAX sometimes. Its pretty rare.

JonEkman · Fri Feb 03, 2017 9:36 am

MalevTU134 wrote:

I am quite positive that BRA (ex-Malmö Aviation) still has theirs, operating in Sweden.

According to their website, they still operate 2 of them.

Don't know if it was mentioned already but they have 12 of them, 10x RJ100 and 2x RJ85.

alexrg · Thu Feb 09, 2017 4:08 am

Add to those aircraft which have been mentioned above the plane that might be considered the holy grail of rare aircraft: the DC-3. Still in commercial operation with Buffalo Airways, flying between Hay River and Yellowknife in the far north of Canada. Fares are pretty high (over 300 USD) for the 45-minute flight, but it is a DC-3...

LamboAston · Fri Feb 10, 2017 4:28 am

alexrg wrote:
Add to those aircraft which have been mentioned above the plane that might be considered the holy grail of rare aircraft: the DC-3. Still in commercial operation with Buffalo Airways, flying between Hay River and Yellowknife in the far north of Canada. Fares are pretty high (over 300 USD) for the 45-minute flight, but it is a DC-3...

And with Air Chathams in New Zealand

planeophilic · Fri Feb 10, 2017 6:50 am

Can I get to ride in the Boeing 747-100/200 if I go via IKA on IRA?

planeophilic · Fri Feb 10, 2017 6:51 am

Can I get to ride in the Boeing 747-100/200 if I go via IKA on IRA?

OlafW · Fri Feb 10, 2017 9:42 am

Most unlikely. With the latest fleet update from http://fleet.myaviation.ir/iranair.htm (dated 16.11.1395 which is 04.02.2017 in Gregorian Calendar) the last 747 in the IR fleet is a 747-200 in Cargo version.

longhauler · Fri Feb 10, 2017 5:28 pm

alexrg wrote:
Add to those aircraft which have been mentioned above the plane that might be considered the holy grail of rare aircraft: the DC-3. Still in commercial operation with Buffalo Airways, flying between Hay River and Yellowknife in the far north of Canada. Fares are pretty high (over 300 USD) for the 45-minute flight, but it is a DC-3...

Passenger service between Yellowknife and Hay River has been suspended. I am guessing Transport Canada Air Carriers is still performing their audit of operations.

If one wishes to fly on a DC-3, one can fly one out of Hamilton, Ontario.

bfiguy · Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:20 pm

How many Shorts 330/360's in pax ops around the globe left?

opticalilyushin · Sun Mar 05, 2017 5:42 pm

Reference the Shorts 330/360, the only one I know of, and have flown is Ayit in Israel, but booking a seat on it is not so easy, and there's no guarantee of any particular aircraft type on their routes.

An update from Kenya here, just spent the last 3 days doing multiple sectors on a DHC-7, Q300, DC9-30 and today 3 flights on the DC9-14 (incidentally 2 of the airframes flown seem to have no record or history anywhere online!).

The FlySAX F28 is parked up, having not flown in a little while. I was told today that there is a problem with crew and training.

The famous 51 year old DC9-14 is on its way out soon, the crew reporting a slightly younger and much less used DC9 is being prepped for it's replacement. Both DC9s of FlySAX and African Express typically work on the Mogadishu routes.

All in all a fun few days were had flying these vintage gems, and I even got to take a few ramp pics in Mogadishu!

Arctage · Tue Mar 07, 2017 11:47 pm

707 is still in flight, with 2 or 3, and the A340 is NOT rare, a few airlines, mainly European operates them, unless you define RARE out of production

debonair · Wed Mar 08, 2017 10:19 am

PanzerPowner wrote:
A340-300:
Sri Lankan Airlines
Philippine Airlines
And Some Others

There are none Others, there is only ONE A340-311 in the world to fly with! :alert:

The one and only A340-300 to fly on is EP-APA of Iran Aseman Airlines, 2nd(!!) of the production line and former AIRBUS testbed/demo a/c! The aircraft is history and a legend in itself; despite an Airbus it is already vintage for me!

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/ep-apa

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