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Today is an interesting anniversary, for it marks the 60th anniversary of Lufthansa placing an order for a brand new aircraft type – the Boeing 737.
That order, for 21 jets, allowed Boeing to commence production of this aircraft – the original 737-100 – which would later be joined by an order from United Airlines for a slightly larger variant – the 737-200.
Here’s an article about Lufthansa’s Classic Boeing 737-100 fleet:
The Boeing 737-100 and -200 Today
Fast forward 60 years and there are now no 737-100s still flying. In fact, only one exsits – the prototype, which is preserved at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
As for the 737-200, there are a handful still flying passengers, but it is very much a dying breed.
Here’s an article we wrote only last month about the remaining aircraft:
However, there has been a small ray of light as another aircraft has been reactivated and put into passenger service.
Introducing Aviatsa
Aviatsa is an airline in Honduras which operates charter and scheduled services out of Roatan and Tegucigalpa airports.
It has had a single Boeing 737-200, HR-AVR (c/n 23104), which has remained grounded for quite a while thanks to some legal challenges the airline faced.
However, this month the aircraft has reportedly been reactivated and Aviatsa is looking to begin regular services linking Honduras with Cuba.
Whether this becomes a viable operation we don’t know. But it is good to see another Boeing 737-200 potentially flying passengers again.
HR-AVR was built in 1984 for Delta Air Lines as N332DL. It flew with the airline until 2006 when it was sold to Sky King Airlines, and later Rollins Air in 2008.
Aviatsa purchased the aircraft in 2011, and it wears this attractive livery.
Title image: Oscar Josué Elvir Vasquez (GFDL 1.2
