General news

For the second time this year Alliance Airlines has bought a large series of Embraer 190, this time 16 units from Jetran, all previous American Airlines aircraft. Delivery will start immediately and run until November 2021. By that time the airline will operate 40 aircraft of this type. When the previous purchase was announced, Alliance said that they would operate the Embraers next to the 45 strong Fokker fleet. It has to be seen how long this will remain so.

Fokker F27, Fokker 50 & Fokker 60

Fokker F28, Fokker 70 & Fokker 100

One of the very first non-airline customers for the F27 Friendship was the Australian Department of Civil Aviation, who ordered two F27 in 1957. The second aircraft, VH-CAT (10132), was delivered in 1959 and remained in use until 1978. Subsequently it served as an aeronautical research laboratory until 2003, when it was withdrawn from use. In 2008 the South Australian Aviation Museum acquired the Friendship and restored it. In the colors of Airborne Research Vehicles Australia, a subsidiary of Australian Flight Test Services, it is still one of the eyecatchers in the museum. (Tony Haines; Port Adelaide Museum, 15 December 2020)

Now Amapola Flyg SE-LEB (20120) has been transferred to Silverstone Air Services in Kenya, this picture is also history: this aircraft was last active for Braathens Regional Airways. (Andre Alders; Stockholm-Bromma, 17 September 2020)

It appears that Freedom Airlines Express has added a third F50 to the fleet: 5Y-FAS (c/n hitherto unknown). (Max KE @nairibiplanespotter on Imgkoa; Nairobi-Wilson, November 2020)

The only place in Europe where one can see multiple active Fokker 50’s is in Sweden, where Amapola Flyg operates a fair number of them, both in passenger and cargo configurations. Ready for their next flights are, from right to left, SE-MFR (20264) in Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA) colors, SE-LIO (20146) in the new Amapola livery, SE-MFZ (20159) and SE-LIR (20151), both all white. (Andre Alders; Stockholm-Arlanda, 18 September 2020) 

A surprise for those who had thought that the days of the Argentine Air Force Fellowships were counted. In December, TC-52 (11047) was shown in a new, low-visibility scheme, carrying the name “1° de Mayo”. Word has it that TC-53 (11020) is almost restored and T-02 (11203) will get the same rejuvenation treatment. (Claudio Corzo on Facebook; El Palomar Air Base, 12 December 2020)

Currently, less than ten F100’s are still active in Europe. Two of these are operated by the Slovakian government in a VIP transport role. For a meeting with Dutch government officials in nearby The Hague OM-BYB (11403) visited the Netherlands, unfortunately in dull weather. (André Wadman; 16 December 2020, Rotterdam)

After the demise of Insel Air, one of their F70 (P4-FKA, 11528) was acquired in 2017 by Airline Fleet Support BV, with the intention to transfer it to a still unknown operator in Africa. In the meantime, it underwent heavy maintenance and now looks reasonably complete. We are looking forward to see where it will have its next home. The F70 was noticed under tow with temporary registration 2-HJCH. (Larry Every; 19 November 2020, Curaçao)

Last September, a specialized company started removing useful parts from the two TUS Airways F70’s that were stored at Cyprus after the airline ceased operations. The work made slow progress, as the engines were taken out two months later from 5B-DDI (11583). In the back sister ship 5B-DDG (11543) is also visible, in a comparable condition. (Panos Neocleous on Facebook; 26 November 2020, Larnaca)