Flying Rare / Classic Aircraft In 2015 (Q4)

dumbell2424 · Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:07 pm

Haven't seen a Q4 thread yet and the Q3 thread has been long locked.

I'll start discussion off about Trislanders. Aurigny is narrowing down their fleet, does anyone happen to know which routes I can catch it on? Their website is pretty hard to get detail, and FR24 isn't much help, either.

Also, seeing as Emirates just retired their A340-500 on 3 Oct, and Etihad retiring the type on 13 Dec, I believe that leaves Hi Fly and AZAL as civilion type operators.

Prior discussion this year:

Flying Rare / Classic Aircraft In 2015 (Q3) (by Birdwatching Jul 2 2015 in Aviation Polls)
Flying Rare / Classic Aircraft In 2015 (Q2) (by Birdwatching Mar 30 2015 in Aviation Polls)
Flying Rare / Classic Aircraft In 2015 (Q1) (by Birdwatching Dec 28 2014 in Aviation Polls)

dumbell2424 · Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:19 pm

Quoting dumbell2424 (Thread starter):
I'll start discussion off about Trislanders. Aurigny is narrowing down their fleet, does anyone happen to know which routes I can catch it on? Their website is pretty hard to get detail, and FR24 isn't much help, either.

To answer my own question, it seems that GCI to both ACI or DNR are both trislander routes at the present.

Birdwatching · Thu Oct 08, 2015 2:15 pm

Thanks for starting the Q4 thread! I was going to do this tonight, good to see you already posted it.

Has anybody noticed how the classic / rare aircraft threads have become less and less popular in the last years? Back in the good old days we had these giant threads with lots of information about trips to far off places to catch rare classics. What has happened? Are all the bucket lists full now? Or is it because Bangladesh / Iran / Ecuador / North Korea are no longer what they used to be? Don't the young A.net members chase rare planes any more?

Soren

winterlight · Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:00 pm

Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 2):
Don't the young A.net members chase rare planes any more?

I do but it's paying to get to these sorts of places plus the cost of the flights themselves! I'm having to make do with the B-list of semi-rare A310s, A340-300s, 146s, 717s etc.

Skyeurope · Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:53 pm

Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 2):
Don't the young A.net members chase rare planes any more?

From my observation, no they don't anymore. At least the young aviation enthusiasts here in STR are mostly more happy about an AB A320 in special colours than a good old Mad dog... No further comment needed.

zululima · Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:47 pm

Well I'm happy to have the info, even if I rarely get to use it. Managed to track down E120, E140, Ford Tri-Motor, A342, A310, DC-10, SSJ1, and DHC-81 in the last two years, with A345, A343, A318, and B736 coming up. Still too many on the wish-list though.

opticalilyushin · Sat Oct 10, 2015 4:00 pm

As a young enthusiast (well..i think 26 is still young) i still enjoy reading these threads and chasing down rare and old types. Today i had 4 enjoyable flights on the NextJet ATP, combined with a weekend in Sweden, and flying the Finnair A340 and A350.

Transaero's elusive Tu214 looks like it has an uncertain future..i can't imagine Aeroflot keeping them in service. I was booked to fly one last month on it's weekly Moscow-Tenerife route, and got a 27 year old 767-200 instead :-

The Trislander is still bookable, but you need to focus on routes through Alderney. From memorythe D228 flights showed as 'operated by Grupo7' recently when booking.

Would anyone have anymore info on the Air Leisure A340-200? I have tried to contact them and Rainbow travels who charter it, but with no replies.

visualapproach · Sun Oct 11, 2015 8:04 am

Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 2):
Don't the young A.net members chase rare planes any more?

Ha! You should see my monthly spend on flying. I'm 22 and gutted that I've missed many opportunities to fly on older aircraft. I flew to Yellowknife in May to get the B737-200 and I'm off to OTP next month for the A310.

Just upset I missed the Monarch A300 and the Biman DC-10.

dumbell2424 · Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:10 pm

Quoting opticalilyushin (Reply 6):
Would anyone have anymore info on the Air Leisure A340-200? I have tried to contact them and Rainbow travels who charter it, but with no replies.

Interestingly, I've noticed that their website now includes a route map with plenty of European destinations. I wonder what that's all about

http://www.air-leisure.com/images/map2.jpg

nicode · Wed Oct 14, 2015 3:39 pm

Air Leisure is planned to operate Egypt-China flights from November with their A342 :

eff 10NOV15 Hurghada – Shanghai Pu Dong
AL850 HRG0700 – 0010+1PVG 340 25
AL851 PVG0130 – 0730HRG 340 36

eff 12NOV15 Hurghada – Beijing
AL840 HRG0900 – 0100+1PEK 340 47
AL841 PEK0215 – 0615HRG 340 15

Source : Airline Route

[Edited 2015-10-14 08:41:26]

Loran · Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:32 am

Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 2):
Has anybody noticed how the classic / rare aircraft threads have become less and less popular in the last years? Back in the good old days we had these giant threads with lots of information about trips to far off places to catch rare classics. What has happened? Are all the bucket lists full now? Or is it because Bangladesh / Iran / Ecuador / North Korea are no longer what they used to be? Don't the young A.net members chase rare planes any more?

Realized the same, I had originally opened the first thread in 2010, and subsequent ones were opened afterwards by fellow members.
Questions About Flying Classic Aircraft In 2010 (by Loran Jan 16 2010 in Aviation Polls)

I think the discussion has mainly moved to dedicated Facebook groups. These are seeing daily posts and updates. I have to say I got so busy that I can hardly keep up with reading all interesting posts neither in FB nor here. I am travelling so much that I have had to give up writing trip reports, although I'd have material to write 100 or so. Glad if I manage to sort out my photos after a trip before the next one is already on...

But I'd certainly try to contribute to such a topic in here in the future, and would be great to see activity increasing again. Too many reare airplanes out there still to be flown on.

Regards,
Loran

UK_Dispatcher · Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:30 am

Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 2):
Has anybody noticed how the classic / rare aircraft threads have become less and less popular in the last years? Back in the good old days we had these giant threads with lots of information about trips to far off places to catch rare classics. What has happened? Are all the bucket lists full now? Or is it because Bangladesh / Iran / Ecuador / North Korea are no longer what they used to be? Don't the young A.net members chase rare planes any more?

I am sure it is because of the amount of us on Facebook groups, as well as direct WhatsApp group chats between like-minded people.

This is the first time I have looked at this forum for a long time. I used to look every day, but now it is probably once every couple of months, if that.

I'm glad to see it is still going though, and that there are young guys still interested in catching up on the classics.

nicode · Thu Oct 22, 2015 8:09 am

Is it possible to have the link of this Facebook group ?

PlymSpotter · Thu Oct 22, 2015 11:15 am

With the suspension of operations by LinksAir, Denmark's North Flying has taken over the CWL-HLY PSO route.

They are flying it with a Metroliner - may have to hop on this one!

Dan

opticalilyushin · Thu Oct 22, 2015 12:34 pm

North Flying are great to fly with, friendly crew (last year I spent the entire flight chatting to the chief pilot), and they have a pimped up Metro with a fancy 5 blade composite prop

classicjets · Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:10 pm

Quoting nicode (Reply 12):
Is it possible to have the link of this Facebook group ?

Here is one good one: Special Flights Enthusiasts

https://www.facebook.com/groups/329957813811382/?ref=br_tf
http://www.facebook.com/groups/329957813811382/?ref=br_tf

classicjets · Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:14 pm

Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 13):
With the suspension of operations by LinksAir, Denmark's North Flying has taken over the CWL-HLY PSO route.

Oh my! I'm booked on VLY-CWL this Monday, was expecting the J31, this is a surprise. Not a bad deal at only 19 GBP though!

dumbell2424 · Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:17 am

I emailed Aurigny, here's a response:

We can confirm that our Trislanders’ still currently operate the Guernsey to Alderney rotations and certain times on our Southampton to Alderney rotations, to obtain the details via our website please search flights for the mentioned rotations and the services operated by the Trislander will show.

For information: if the services show a flashing exclamation mark then this is NOT our Trislander, anything showing operated by Aero VIP is our Dornier aircraft.

CrimsonNL · Sat Oct 24, 2015 1:15 pm

Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 13):

The other day I flew with Northflying, OSL-VDB-OSL, and on the return leg I was the only passenger! The pilots were nice and easy going. They seem like a decent airline for sure.

Martijn

aloges · Sat Oct 24, 2015 6:46 pm

Quoting CrimsonNL (Reply 18):
The other day I flew with Northflying, OSL-VDB-OSL, and on the return leg I was the only passenger! The pilots were nice and easy going. They seem like a decent airline for sure.

Are they still doing the help yourself coffee service?

MHG · Sat Oct 24, 2015 8:35 pm

Quoting Birdwatching (Reply 2):
Don't the young A.net members chase rare planes any more?

Well, I think that it has mostly to do with getting to those "remote" places where most rare types operate.
Getting to these places (plus flying on the rare types) comes more and more with relatively steep price tags.
... and in also the number of rare aircraft has dwindled significantly in recent years.
Especially younger enthusiasts do not have the (financial) means to afford these long distance flights (I´m talking from a European point of view).

TUGMASTER · Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:48 pm

Quoting CrimsonNL (Reply 18):

Quoting PlymSpotter (Reply 13):

The other day I flew with Northflying, OSL-VDB-OSL, and on the return leg I was the only passenger! The pilots were nice and easy going. They seem like a decent airline for sure.

Martijn

Exactly the same thing happened to me last year.... Great personal 19 seater...!!!

XAM2175 · Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:47 am

Quoting MHG (Reply 20):
Getting to these places (plus flying on the rare types) comes more and more with relatively steep price tags.
... and in also the number of rare aircraft has dwindled significantly in recent years.

Plus the risk of a substitution!

winterlight · Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:58 pm

Thanks for the info regarding the Aurigny Trislander. I've managed to book a return from LGW to ACI covering the entire Aurigny fleet - ATR, Do228, BNT & E195.

ALexeu · Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:06 pm

Any news for the Danish MD-87 final flight or a special enthusiast one?!

Our hobby is not dead.

winterlight · Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:04 pm

Can't see any more Aurigny Trislander flights listed after 30th November.

eirik · Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:58 pm

Quoting winterlight (Reply 25):

Looks like DAT´s MD-87 will fly for Sas on ARN-HEL in the beginning of November !

dumbell2424 · Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:26 am

Quoting winterlight (Reply 25):
Can't see any more Aurigny Trislander flights listed after 30th November.

Dang. Was just about to pull the trigger and book for first weekend in December tomorrow AM. Thanks for the heads up. May have to go sometime in the next two weeks.

LXM83 · Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:35 am

Quoting eirik (Reply 26):
Looks like DAT´s MD-87 will fly for Sas on ARN-HEL in the beginning of November !

To be exact - 06 Nov only - 4 flights in each direction.

dumbell2424 · Wed Oct 28, 2015 12:23 pm

Quoting LXM83 (Reply 28):
To be exact - 06 Nov only - 4 flights in each direction.

Here's the timetable for 6 Nov DAT MD80 flights:

SAS 703: HEL 0805 - ARN 0805
SAS 704: ARN 0845 - HEL 1045
SAS 717: HEL 1115 - ARN 1115
SAS 708: ARN 1305 - HEL 1505
SAS 709: HEL 1535 - ARN 1535
SAS 718: ARN 1615 - HEL 1810
SAS 721: HEL 1840 - ARN 1840
SAS 724: ARN 1920 - HEL 2115

winterlight · Wed Oct 28, 2015 4:12 pm

Thanks for the info. Have decided to go for it from LHR. 737-600 to ARN then the MD-87. Can't reserve seats on the 87 though!

[Edited 2015-10-28 09:40:44]

TUGMASTER · Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:59 pm

Had already booked SK LHR-ARN-HEL with a 9 hour layover to catch the KF 717.
Aslso booked a ARN -HEL Rtn n the layover, to get more 717 flights...
Have now ended up with SK to ARN,... And 1 x DAT A320, and 2x DAT MD87...
Absolutely brilliant equipment change.!!!

winterlight · Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:20 pm

Totally overlooked the DAT A320 option when I booked, so have cancelled and re booked to catch it. Phew for SK's 24hr refund policy.

winterlight · Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:22 am

Grozny Avia have folded. One less Yak-42 option.

winterlight · Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:43 am

Could a 737-300QC be classed as rare or different enough from a standard -300 to be worth flying?

aloges · Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:51 am

Quoting winterlight (Reply 34):
Could a 737-300QC be classed as rare or different enough from a standard -300 to be worth flying?

The more, the merrier, IMHO, particularly if the destination is interesting.

ALexeu · Thu Nov 05, 2015 3:33 pm

Classic Jet Tours is offering the possibility to fly on the DC-9-15 between Venice and Helsinki on the 29.November (there is also a chance to fly all the way from Nairobi). The fare from Venice to Helsinki is an astonishing €1450!

http://classicjettours.com/dc9.html

winterlight · Thu Nov 05, 2015 4:20 pm

Will have to make do with the MD-87 for now.

HAM · Tue Nov 10, 2015 7:58 pm

Update on Cuban classics:

- An26: Still active at Aerogaviota, flew it on Sunday from Havana (Playa Baracoa) to Cayo Largo. Real classic experience with aft ramp boarding and only 4 windows per row. Return was on an ATR42, so not a safe bet. Can only be done as part of a tour package.

- Emb-110: Still active at Aerocaribbean (now merged with Cubana, but A/C still in Aerocaribbean colors), saw two at Cayo Largo

- Mil-8: Not certain; I heard contradictory info on whether or not they still do the Varadero-Trinidad day trips.

The not-so-classics (Il-96, Tu-204 and An-158) are of course still operating plenty of Cubana flights and those are relatively easy to book.

DeltaMD95 · Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:28 pm

Quoting winterlight (Reply 30):

Quoting TUGMASTER (Reply 31):

How was the MD87??? Would love see a TR if it's not too much trouble.

winterlight · Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:34 am

Very borderline 'rare' but BA will be using long haul 767s on UK & European routes during December whilst two short haul 767s get repainted. MAD also sees a 772 on two flights next month.

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