Corsair Boeing 747-400 F-HSEA at Dublin Intl. Airport
Taken by Lauren Jordan @irelandspotter on Instagram
Today Corsair retired their last Boeing 747s one year earlier than planned. The airline decided in September 2019 that they would get rid of their last Boeing 747s at the end of 2020 and in 2021. However, with the current crisis they sped up their retirement process.
The three aircraft were registered F-GTUI, F-HSEA and F-HSUN. One was meant to leave the fleet in December 2020 while the other two sometimes in 2021. They were the last French airline to operate this jumbo jet. The TUI subsidiary have recently been bombarded with loans from banks and airlines, therefore retiring their aircraft early. They also aren't eligible for government assistance.
The airline have nearly operated the entire Boeing 747 family at some time in their history. From 1991-1998, the airline operated the Boeing 747-100. In 1992-2000, they used the Boeing 747-200. They operated the Boeing 747-300 from 1992-2007 and even used the Boeing SP model from 1994-1996! Unfortunately, this era sadly came to an end when the airline retired their last Boeing 747 aircraft operating since 1999 today.
The airline have had a wide variety in their fleet in the past. For example, they used to operate one Airbus A340-300 and a profusion of Boeing 737 series. The variants of Boeing 737 operated were the -100, -200, -300 and -400. They even used the magnificent McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft in the past too!
Corsair owned all three Boeing 747-400s. The airline used to hold the world record for the most passengers held in the 747 with a whopping number of 587 seats. This number fell to 533 since the airline installed a new interior into the aircraft.
Currently, their fleet consist of 1 Airbus A330-200 and 2 Airbus A330-300. In March 2019, the airline decided that they were going to replace their Boeing 747s with the new Airbus A330-900neos. They currently have 5 on order and are planning to receive them in August this year. They will be purchasing three and leasing two from a leasing firm.
Corsair are planning to return into service again on the 21st of June. They are hoping to travel to Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion. The Paris-Orly based airline will only be going ahead with these plans if the airport decided to re-open by their predicted date.
In June 2019, Corsair carried out an unusual flight operated by the French government. They flew from Paris-Orly to Dublin International Airpot to collect French students trying to get home. The airline decided to operate two flights to the Irish capital using their Boeing 747-400 aircraft.
Other airlines have recently retired their Boeing 747 fleet also. Lufthansa recently retired 15 Boeing 747-400 early. They were originally meant to leave the German fleet in 2025. Iag have also left some British Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft go. For more information on the IAG retirements on the British Airways Boeing 747-400s, click here. In early March, KLM retired their iconic blue Boeing 747s. However, they decided to bring two of these aircraft back into service for cargo efforts.
Comments