With the 21st century now a quarter complete, the world of aviation has come on leaps and bounds, technologically speaking, since the turn of the new millennium. Recent years have seen the development of next-generation twinjet aircraft in both the narrowbody and widebody sectors, with larger quadjets simultaneously falling by the wayside. All in all, the modern nature of aviation today is rather exciting.
That being said, many avgeeks around the world favor the novelty of older aircraft, and will often go out of their way to fly on vintage planes as part of their collective aviation bucket list. There are plenty of these still knocking around if you know where to look, with a wide variety of manufacturers and models present when it comes to the world's oldest passenger aircraft. But where can you find these?
The oldest Boeing jets
Starting with US manufacturing juggernaut Boeing , current fleet data made available by ch-aviation shows that the company has made several different aircraft that remain active today at ages in excess of 50 years old. However, most of these are currently deployed by military operators rather than in scheduled passenger operations, prompting us to have to look a little closer at the data on offer.
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In terms of aircraft currently configured to carry people rather than undertaking military duties, ch-aviation lists two private examples of the Boeing 727 as being among the world's oldest active aircraft. These are a 53.9-year-old Vallejo Company 727-100(RE) registered as N311AG and a 51.4-year-old Towards Air 727-200 registered as N422BN. Omega Air also has a 50.7-year-old 707 freighter (N707GF).
However, when it comes to planes that paying passengers can travel onboard, the top of the pile age-wise is occupied by Nolinor Aviation's C-GNLK. This Boeing 737-200C is configured in a flexible 'Combi' setup which allows for the transportation of both cargo and passengers, with the latter section having space for 77 occupants. The aircraft is 50.7 years old, and entered service in 1974 with Transavia.
Photo: CambridgeBayWeather | Wikimedia Commons
Historical fleet data from ch-aviation shows that the jet also served in Argentina, France, and Hungary before eventually joining Canadian carrier Nolinor Aviation just over a decade ago, back in April of 2014. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft has mostly been flying domestically out of Montréal Mirabel International Airport (YMX) in recent times. Nolinor Aviation also has several other active 737-200Cs:
C-GNLE - 49.8 years old, 77 seats. C-GTUK - 41.9 years old, 77 seats. C-GNLN - 41.6 years old, 77 seats. Other vintage Boeing aircraft
Elsewhere in Canada, Air Inuit is also home to four vintage examples of the Boeing 737-200C, the oldest two of which are currently listed as being active by ch-aviation's database. These 76-twinjets are registered as C-GMAI and C-GAIG, clocking in at 46.8 and 45.4 years old respectively at the time of writing. Similarly, Glencore Canada has an active 45.7-year-old Boeing 737-200C registered as C-FFAL.
Photo: LarryDallaire | Shutterstock
With that being said, as much as these flexible 'Combi' aircraft carry paying passengers, it is interesting to observe what is the oldest active 'pure' passenger aircraft. In other words, one that solely carries paying guests on its main deck, with cargo being transported exclusively in the belly of the plane. As it happens, the most senior plane by this metric is still only slightly younger than the oldest Combis.
Specifically, the 'pure' passenger aircraft identified as being the oldest one that is still active by ch-aviation's database is a 46.8-year-old Boeing 737-200 registered as YV3471 that flies for Venezolana with a 117-seat all-economy configuration. Tracking data concerning this former Frontier and United Airlines twinjet is harder to come by, but a quick look at Flightradar24 hints at plenty of recent activity.
Photo: Maor X | Wikimedia Commons
As it happens, Venezolana has four vintage examples of the Boeing 737-200, such as the one pictured at the top of the article, in its fleet, with a hefty average age of 43.1 years old. However, YV3471 is currently the only one listed by ch-aviation as being active. The Venezuelan scheduled carrier is something of an avgeek's dream, as it also flies McDonnell Douglas MD-82s and 83s aged over 30 years old.
All about Airbus
As for Boeing's multinational European rival Airbus , the slightly younger nature of this particular planemaker means that its vintage aircraft are not quite on the same sale age-wise as its US competitor. Indeed, while ch-aviation lists several Airbus A300 freighters (flown by Gewan Air and Moalem Aviation) as being active at over 40 years old, only one-passenger carrying aircraft has reached four decades.
Photo: Shahram Sharifi | Wikimedia Commons
The plane in question is a 40.5-year-old Airbus A300B4 operated by Iranian flag carrier Iran Air which bears the registration EP-IBG. Of course, Iran is famously an oasis for older aircraft, with Western sanctions preventing the country's airlines from acquiring newer planes from the major manufacturers. EP-IBG has 237 economy and 17 business class seats, and mainly flies between Tehran and Jeddah.
This aircraft has had a diverse operational career, and began life in the mid-1980s at Finnish operator Karair. It later moved across to the country's flag carrier Finnair, before spending a spell at the turn of the century with Air Scandic. After periods at Air ACT and Iran Airtour Airlines, it eventually joined Iran Air in October of 2009, where it has remained for more than 15 years. As of August 2024, it had:
70,921 flight hours at an average of 1,769 per year. 25,384 flight cycles at an average of 633 per year. Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Interestingly enough, the aforementioned Iran Airtour Airlines is the home of the current second-oldest active passenger-carrying Airbus jet. Registered as EP-MDJ, this 38.1-year-old Airbus A300-600 has 256 economy and 24 business class seats onboard, and previously flew for the likes of Lufthansa and Mahan Air. As of August 2024, the veteran aircraft had amassed some 68,258 hours across 35,866 cycles.
Twin Otters are the world's absolute oldest passenger aircraft
In terms of relatively large Boeing narrowbodies and Airbus widebodies, the aircraft discussed thus far are the ones to aim for for any avgeek wanting to get a truly vintage aviation experience in the modern day. However, these are not the absolute oldest active passenger aircraft left in the world today. Indeed, this honor instead falls to a venerable selection of De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otters.
Of these aircraft, the very oldest active example listed on ch-aviation's considerable database bears the registration 8Q-IAJ, and flies for Maldivian. This carrier serves as the flag carrier of the Maldives, and uses the De Havilland DHC-6-300 to connect the country's many islands. For this reason, its variant of choice is the seaplane version, with the oldest of these, namely 8Q-IAJ, being 55.1 years old.
This 15-seat twin-turboprop seaplane has served as far afield as Canada, Sri Lanka, and even Papua New Guinea, and has been at Maldivian since June of 2014. Despite the relatively short flights that seaplanes are typically used to operate, ch-aviation lists the aircraft's standard seat pitch as a relatively generous 30 inches. As is typical for the type, its seats are laid out in a three-abreast setup.
Photo: icemanphotos | Shutterstock
While 8Q-IAJ is the only active Twin Otter to have exceeded the 55-year mark, plenty more have flown for over 54 years. Among these are several from its local rival Trans Maldivian Airways, whose overall DHC-6-300 fleet has a whopping average age of 47.6 years old. Other passenger operators of DHC-6-300s that have exceeded 54 years of service include Air Tindi, Grand Canyon Air, and Divi Divi Air.
How safe are older aircraft?
With aviation being an industry where safety is at the forefront of most, if not all, decision-making processes, some passengers might question the safety of such old aircraft. After all, in a sector where so much is made of the introduction of brand-new aircraft with the latest cutting-edge safety features, the deployment of vintage jets and turboprops may seem to be a contradiction of this industry trend.
Photo: Juice Flair | Shutterstock
For example, The Daily Telegraph notes that the reliability of older aircraft was called into question in 2017 by some commentators when a 31-year-old Boeing 737 flown by UK-based low-cost leisure airline Jet2 made two emergency landings in two weeks. However, the publication went on to conclude that the most important factor isn't necessarily a plane's age, but, rather, its maintenance.
On a similar note, the Telegraph quotes Atmosphere Research Group Analyst Henry Harteveldt as stating that economic factors, rather than those pertaining to age, are the primary driver behind aircraft retirements. Indeed, Harteveldt explained to the publication that "age itself does not force airplanes into retirement. Two other things do: bad fuel efficiency and low availability of spare parts."
Photo: Nieuwland Photography | Shutterstock
Passengers need not be fearful about flying on older aircraft, as long as they have been well maintained over the years. Many will have newer components onboard anyway, with Flightradar24 noting that "over the course of a given aircraft's life, it will be more or less taken apart and rebuilt several times. (...) The airframe itself is the only piece that remains more or less the same." This has allowed the world's oldest active passenger plane, a 55-year-old Twin Otter, to keep on flying today.