The Airbus A310 is rare
Who wants to once again fly aboard an Airbus A310, you must hurry. With Yemenia another Airline from flottet the Long haul aircraft.
Instagram-Profiles of airlines usually see so: high-gloss images of destinations, passengers can Board good to go, and now and again photos of planes, gliding in the bright blue sky majestically there. Something different Yemenia is presented. The national airline of the state in the South of the Arabian Peninsula posts a day is a table that shows the manageable days of the flight plan.
If you look closely, discovered another peculiarity. Between the flights, with Airbus A320 flights with an Airbus A310 occasionally. Yemenia took from the mid-1990s to 2009, a total of six copies of the long Version of the Airbus A300-haul in the fleet. Just as his technical model of the A310 is seen but rarely in the sky. Also, the Yemeni national airline is planning to constitute your last copy soon find out, as they announced last week.
The successor could not stay
Currently Yemenia operates only the Airbus A310. The airline suffers from the since 2015 in the country raging war, and had to share in the past few years, your Other copies in the absence of a substitute and demand is out of service. A A310 lost in 2009 in the tragic crash of Yemenia flight IY626, in the case of the 153 inmates of a then-underage passenger survived.
The Airbus A310 remained for Yemenia in the last few years, the only aircraft for long haul flights. Their three modern Airbus A330 had to give back to the flight line, five years ago, because of disputes with the lessor. The strife culminated in the seizure of one of the A330 in Paris by French authorities. Today, her remains is the Airbus A310 with registration 7O-ADR as a wide-bodied aircraft.
Old tired A310 became the target of hostility
The plane began his career in Europe. Airbus delivered it in 1991, in Austrian Airlines. The A310 is a plane, with which the Austrian company went for the first time since the outplacement of the fleet of their Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 in the 1970s on the long-haul. In the year 2000, he then went as a leasing flyer to Yemenia. Now the conclusion is for the 7O-ADR final.
At the end of last month (30. June) suffered by the machine during a landing in Cairo two blowouts. Previously had to leave the Airline in addition to allegations of corruption, the allegation of poor maintenance like. As the news page Hamrin News reported, dismissed the Chairman of the Board of Yemenia, Ahmed Masood Al-Alwani, renewed accusations after the incident. At the same time, he announced that his airline sends its last A310 soon-to-retire, and a further Airbus A320 to be replaced. When exactly it happened, he said.
Airbus first Flop
Thus, the A310 is the sky still rare. At the time of delivery of the last copy in 1998, the plane was already rare. Airbus built just 255 copies of the flyer, which should build on the success of the A300. However, the concept of 47 meters shorter fuselage, which was suitable for long distance and up to 240 courses offered, flopped. The A310 is still the worst-selling civilian model range of the European aircraft manufacturer.
Today, about 30 copies of this classic, the young took flight in 1982 are still flying, with passengers. The A310 seems to be primarily as a workhorse of armies still in demand. The German air force took over after the re-unification of several A310 from the holdings of the former Interflug, the national Airline of the GDR. Of these planes, you still owns a copy. But she also took over from Lufthansa and Condor discarded A310.
As a state pilot asked
First, these were used in the flight readiness as a government plane and troop transport. After the introduction of the two Airbus A340 as a state plane, the most of the A310 of the Luftwaffe were the roles to the multi-workhorse rebuilt. With the exception of the single last GDR-A310 the other four A310 can be used either as a tank, airplane, flying hospital or troop.
In April, one of the A310 of the Luftwaffe was allowed to slip, but for a flight again in his old role back. After the two Airbus A340 the flight standby scheduled by multiple puncture, back to handle defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen for a trip to the UN security Council in New York as a precaution on one of the long grey camouflaged A310.
Europe is already gone
In other countries it is, however, an ordinary image, when politicians compete for a state trip on Board of an Airbus A310. Thus, a total of nearly a dozen Airbus A310 in France, Canada, Spain and Pakistan is used as a troop-carrier and state plane.
Normal passengers have a Chance to Board the rare two-body radiator go. A little less than 20 copies are still in the service of airlines. After Azores Airlines sent last October, as the last European A310 operator of the A310 in retirement, fly only six copies of the canadian Air Transat in Western spheres. The company plans to replace the model until the summer of 2020 with the Airbus A321 Neo LR.
Also as a freighter less success
Enthusiasts for a Flight in an A310, only the path in the Middle East. With seven pilots of the Iranian Mahan Air is the largest A310 operator in the world. Since the country has pilots due to the economic embargo only little access to the new Passenger, to be, of necessity, this A310 still for a while remain in the Ministry. Another handful of A310 flying at Taban Air, Iran Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines.
Even longer, the freighter is expected to remain in service. As a Cargo A310 three copies of fly to the American logistics giant Fedex. Royal Jordan Cargo (a copy of) and the Turkish ULS Airlines Cargo (three copies) the A310 is currently as well for the transport of goods.
You can see in the above image gallery photographs of current and former operators of the Airbus A310.