Summary
- SAS has bid farewell to its Boeing 737 fleet with a special flight, marking the top of an era.
- The ultimate business flight of the Boeing 737 included a novel path to attract ‘700’ within the sky.
- SAS now relies heavily on Airbus narrowbody aircraft for many its short-to-medium-haul network.
SAS has said goodbye to the Boeing 737 fleet type with a special flight on November 19. The carrier has historically been a heavy user of the 737 jets but has progressively been replacing them with more modern and latest versions of the Airbus A320 family of planes over time. SAS now doesn’t have any Boeing planes in its fleet.
Special flight
On Sunday, SAS flew the Boeing 737 commercially for the last time, a flight it had announced over a month ago. The Scandinavian carrier flew the Boeing 737-700 (registered LN-RRB), aptly named flight SK737, from Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) to Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL).
That’s not all. With the intention to commemorate the flight and the kind’s service over time, the pilots of the flight followed a novel path to attract ‘700’ within the sky. SAS marketed the flight in September, asking everyone interested to book a ticket.
SAS and the Boeing 737
It’s, indeed, the top of an era, considering SAS’ long association with the Boeing 737. Per ch-aviation, SAS has operated greater than 100 737 aircraft over time, including the 737-400, -500, -6–, -700, and -800.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
But these planes were getting old. The typical age of SAS’ Boeing 737-700 fleet was 19 years. The aircraft that flew the last flight on November 19 was delivered in 2007 and has flown greater than 41,000 miles across 31,055 flight cycles. SAS knew the essential role the 737 played in its operations over the many years and shared this message on social media in September:
Fleet evolution
While the Boeing 737 has also evolved with its MAX version, SAS has decided to keep on with Airbus for its future fleet development. The carrier now significantly relies on the Airbus narrowbodies for its European network and has greater than 55 of the A320 family of planes in its fleet.
Per Planespotters.net, it also has seven ATR 42/72 aircraft, three Airbus A350s, eight A330s, and 17 Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft. With the 737 gone, SAS currently has no Boeing aircraft in lively service.
Photo: Omar F Martinez | Shutterstock
Last month, SAS showed its commitment to Airbus planes when it entered right into a sale and leaseback agreement with Irish lessor AerDragon Aviation Partners for 2 Airbus A320neos. It also decided to retain an A330, which it had earlier decided to sell as a part of its fleet restructuring plan.
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