At the beginning of October 2023, European Air Charter (formerly Bulgarian Air Charter) retired its last McDonnell Douglas MD-82 with what was Europe’s last scheduled flight of the type. Just a month later, Romania’s Carpatair operated its last scheduled Fokker 100 flight, bringing to an end the era of another T-tail type with rear fuselage-mounted engines.
Continue reading to learn more about the aircraft’s last flight and the type’s history with Carpatair.
Carpatair Operated Both the Fokker 70 and Fokker 100
Between June 2007 when Carpatair received its first Fokker aircraft and November 2023 when it retired its last one, the airline operated six different Fokker airframes split evenly between the smaller Fokker 70 and larger Fokker 100.
All three Fokker 70s Carpatair operated were originally delivered to Hungary’s now-defunct Malev and made their way to Australia’s Alliance Airlines after their stint in Romania ended. The three airframes included:
- YR-KMA: delivered to Malev in 1995, entered Carpatair’s fleet in 2010, sold to Alliance Airlines in 2012
- YR-KMB: delivered to Malev in 1996, entered Carpatair’s fleet in 2010, sold to Alliance Airlines in 2012
- YR-KMC: delivered to Malev in 1996, entered Carpatair’s fleet in 2010, sold to Alliance Airlines in 2012
All three of the Fokker 100s, on the other hand, were originally delivered to American Airlines and also operated for Canada’s Jetsgo before making their way into Carpatair’s fleet. They were all older than the Fokker 70s and included:
- YR-FKA: delivered to American Airlines in 1991, entered Carpatair’s fleet in 2006, retired in August 2020
- YR-FKB: delivered to American Airlines in 1991, entered Carpatair’s fleet in 2006, retired in November 2023
- YR-FZA: delivered to American Airlines in 1992, entered Carpatair’s fleet in 2010, retired in September 2023
With the retirement of Fokker aircraft from its fleet, Carpatair is left with a pair of Airbus A319s.
Carpatair’s (and Europe’s) Last Commercial Fokker 100 Flight
The last commercial flight of Carpatair’s Fokker 100 was operated by one of the first two Fokker aircraft that joined the airline’s fleet, YR-FKB. It took place on November 5, 2023, when the aircraft flew from Palermo, Italy, to the airline’s base in Timisoara, Romania.
It seems that the last flight was part of a larger chain of charter flights that spanned four days and included flights:
- V3259 from Timisoara, Romania, to Granada, Spain, on November 2, 2023
- V3259 from Granada, Spain, to Vigo, Spain, on November 2, 2023
- V3260 from Vigo, Spain, to Granada, Spain, on November 2, 2023
- V3252 from Granada, Spain, to Palermo, Italy, on November 3, 2023
- V3252 from Palermo, Italy, to Genoa, Italy, on November 3, 2023
- V3253 from Genoa, Italy, to Palermo, Italy, on November 4, 2023
- V3253 from Palermo, Italy, to Timisoara, Romania, on November 5, 2023
On November 29, after sitting on the ground in Timisoara for slightly under a month, Carpatair’s last Fokker 100 was ferried to Fokker Services in Woensdrecht as flight V3501. Whether the 32-year-old airframe will return to service with another operator remains to be seen.
Fokker 100 in Europe: From a Staple to a Rare Breed
The Netherlands-made Fokker 100 entered into service in 1988 with Swissair. From there on, over 280 airframes were built, many of which operated for European airlines. KLM Cityhopper, Austrian, PGA Portugalia Airlines, and Helvetic Airways are just some of the former operators of the type on the continent.
With the retirement of Carpatair’s last Fokker 100, however, the 35-year history of the type on commercial routes around Europe came to an end.
That said, there are still two active Fokker 100 airframes based in Europe. Rather than operating for an airline, however, the two aircraft registered OM-BYB and OM-BYC are owned by the Slovak Government.
Outside of Europe, the Fokker 100 remains in service with some airlines including Alliance Air (the type’s current largest operator) and QantasLink in Australia, Iran Aseman Airlines and Qeshm Air in Iran, and Air Niugini in Papua New Guinea.
Summary
Once a common sight at airports around Europe, the Fokker 100 can no longer be seen in commercial service around Europe.
The type’s last operator on the continent, Romania’s Carpatair, operated its last Fokker 100 flight on November 5, 2023. It then ferried the aircraft registered YR-FKB to Fokker Services in the Netherlands where it will either remain stored or be prepared for delivery to its next operator.
With that, the Slovak Government is Europe’s last operator of Fokker 100s. The type also remains in service in other parts of the world, primarily in Australia.
