If everything goes to plan, the 27th of April will be one of the last opportunities for people to take a commercial flight on an Airbus A310. Why? Because Canadian airline, Air Transat, will operate its last flight with its A310 fleet on that date. Let’s dive into it.

The end of an era?

Airbus manufactured the twin-aisle widebody A310 back in the late 70s and officially ceased its production in 1998.

Currently, there are 18 different operators worldwide using the A310. Among them, we can find the French, Spanish, German, and Canadian Air Forces, according to Planespotters.net. Air Transat is the only Western carrier to still have the A310 in its fleet. Other airlines are Yemen Airways (which has it stored, by the way), Ariana Afghan Airlines and four carriers in Iran.

Air Transat’s last flight with the A310 will be between Quebec City and Paris. Transat is retiring its aging fleet and plans to replace it with the more modern Airbus A321LR aircraft.

Previous to that flight, Air Transat has nine more routes that will have a final flight of the A310, according to Routesonline. Let's check them out.

From Montreal:

To Marseille on the 24th of April, 2020, returning the next day.

To Pointe-a-Pitre on the 29th March 2020

To Samana on the 26th of April 2020

From Quebec City:

To Cancun on the 26th of April 2020

To Puerto Vallarta on the 9th of April 2020

To Punta Cana on the 18th of April 2020

From Toronto:

To Manchester 29th March 2020 returning the next day.

To Porto on the 29th March 2020 returning the next day.

To Samana on the 29th March 2020

Looking for old aircraft around the world

So, if you’re unable to book a seat on the final flights of the A310, your best bet is to travel to Iran. Hop on on a flight of Mahan Airlines, the biggest operator of the aircraft, and send us your best pictures.

But, what other old aircraft are still operating commercial flights around the world? A good place to start is Cuba.

Cubana de Aviacion is widely known for its problems due to US sanctions and other political issues. But these have made the airline something of a relic of historical commercial airliners. In its fleet, the carrier has four Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft, three Tupolev TU204, and six Antonov An-158. Not all of these airplanes are actually flying, as you can see some of them parked and decaying in La Habana’s airport.

Iran Air still has four A300 and you can still see a few Fokker 50 and 70 aircraft flying in Australia and New Guinea. The operators are Alliance Airlines and Air Niugini.

Sadly, last year the commercial airline world said goodbye to the Boeing 727-200. Iran’s Aseman Airlines operated the last commercial flight of a 38-year-old airplane. Still, you can hop on a Boeing 727-200 in the US. The company Zero G owns a modified aircraft to create “the weightless experience” as they say.

Looking for odd aircraft around the world

And, what about finding odd aircraft? Well, that depends on the region of the world you're in. For example, in America, it is getting increasingly difficult to fly onboard a Sukhoi Superjet, as Interjet is only operating between four and seven of its fleet of 22.

In China, several airlines operate flights with Chinese-made Comar ARJ21.

Airlines such as Air Vanuatu are still operating the British regional airliner Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander. Meanwhile, the regional British carrier Aurigny has a couple of Dornier 228 aircraft.

In which odd or old aircraft have you enjoyed a flight on? Let us know in the comments.