Summary

• Brazil's commercial aviation sector operates older aircraft, with one Boeing 727 being 47.79 years old.
• Total Linhas Aéreas' fleet includes three old Boeing 727 freighters.
• The Brazilian Air Force also has a number of old aircraft, including the country's oldest turboprop.

Brazil has a robust and diverse commercial aviation sector, with several airlines transporting millions of passengers annually. It is a popular tourist destination, so millions of passengers from every corner of the world travel to South America to soak up its beauty and culture.

Brazilian airlines play an essential role in connecting the country to the rest of the world and constantly add aircraft to their fleets to boost capacity. The country is home to some of South America's largest carriers. According to ch-aviation, there are 521 active aircraft in Brazil, operated by 36 carriers. While some airlines like Azul and LATAM continuously invest in new equipment, others still operate very old aircraft. Here's a list of some of the oldest.

1 PR-TTO

47.79 years old

As of March 2024, Brazil's oldest active aircraft is a Boeing 727-200F, registration PR-TTO. It is operated by a Curitiba-headquartered cargo and charter specialist known as Total Linhas Aéreas. The carrier has a fleet of five aircraft with an average age of 28.6 years.

PR-TTO was ordered in December 1975 by San Francisco-based Hughes Airwest. It took its first flight in May 1976 and was delivered three months later. Hughes Airwest operated it until September 1980, when it joined Republic Airlines' fleet. It saw a number of US operators until it was converted in July 1997.

Total Linhas Aéreas took up the tri-jet in August 2007; to date, it has no listed safety incidents or accidents. As of September 2019, it has accumulated 74,294 flight hours across 43,881 cycles.

2 PR-TTP

45.89 years

The second-oldest active aircraft in Brazil is another Boeing 727 freighter. It carries registration PR-TTP and is also operated by Total Linhas Aéreas. It is one of three 727-200Fs in the airline's fleet. Focusing on charter and cargo operations, the carrier is estimated to have carried 1,347 passengers and 21,100 tonnes of cargo last year.

PR-TTP was built in April 1978 and first delivered to Hughes Airwest. It changed ownership in 1981 when Republic Airlines acquired the California-headquartered carrier. It also saw a significant number of operators before it changed to Brazilian registration.

The 46-year-old aircraft was converted in January 2000, nearly three years after PR-TTO. Total Linhas Aéreas acquired the 727 freighter in September 2008. As of September 2019, it had accumulated 65,515 hours across 39,045 flight cycles. It also has not been involved in any serious accidents but had an incident nearly four years ago.

3 PR-TTW

43.34 years

As you might have guessed, the third-oldest active Brazilian aircraft is the third and final Boeing 727-200F in Total Linhas Aéreas' fleet. It is also the airline's least utilized 727 to date. PR-TTW was ordered by Eastern Air Lines in October 1979 and performed its first flight in November 1980. It was delivered that same month.

The 727 was converted to a freighter in 1995. Total Linhas Aéreas took it up in March 2010 after being operated by six other airlines. As noted by ch-aviation, it had accrued 47,109 flight hours across 33,730 cycles by September 2019. Flighradar24 shows that the aircraft recently operated some flights to São Paulo (GRU), Curitiba (CWB), Porto Alegre (POA), and Florianópolis (FLN).

While the 727 was a reliable and versatile aircraft, only a few remain active worldwide. Ch-aviation lists 37 active with about 25 carriers. PR-TTO and TTP are the fourth and fifth oldest, respectively, while TTW clocks in at number 12. The rest of Total Linhas Aéreas' fleet comprises a 28-year-old ATR42-500 and a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400SF.

4 FAB2002

37.09 years

While Brazil doesn't have the world's oldest military aircraft, the Brazilian military has some of the country's oldest active planes, which have been repurposed for use in the country's Air Force. The fourth-oldest active plane on our list is an Embraer EMB-120RT Brasília, registration FAB2002. As such, it is the oldest turboprop flying in Brazil today.

It took its first flight in early February 1987 and was delivered almost exactly 37 years ago. Unfortunately, there is no data on its utilization and how many hours it has accumulated. Força Aérea Brasileira's EMB-120RTs account for seven of the country's 15 oldest active aircraft.

The second oldest is FAB2003, at 36.48 years old, followed by FAB2004, at 36.15, FAB2008, at 35.52, and FAB2009, at 35.35 years old, to complete the Air Force's top five. FAB2006 and 2007 are still active but younger than the ones listed above. In total, Força Aérea Brasileira has over 50 aircraft in its fleet.

5 PR-SLI

36.77 years

The fifth-oldest active aircraft and fourth-oldest jetliner is a nearly 37-year-old Boeing 737-300F, registration PR-SLI. It is operated by Sideral Linhas Aéreas, a cargo and passenger charter airline headquartered in São José dos Pinhais. PR-SLI has only been flying for the airline for about two years.

According to ATDB.aero, it was converted between 2005 and 2007. The cargo carrier acquired it in November 2021 after seeing over 11 different operators, including easyJet, Germania, and ASL Belgium. It was built in 1987 and first delivered to Transbrasil, a defunct locally-owned Brazilian carrier.

It left Transbrasil's fleet in 1995 and permanently returned to the South American nation after over 26 years. As per ch-aviation's fleet module, PR-SLI had accumulated 58,780 flight hours and 47,072 hours by the end of August 2016. Sideral Linhas Aéreas' entire fleet comprises 18 aircraft with an average age of 30.7 years.

Have you ever flown in Brazil? If so, what's the oldest aircraft you've traveled on in the country? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!