• Airbus and Bombardier C Series partnership 6
    Bombardier
    CEO:
    Éric Martel
    Headquarters Location:
    Dorval, Canada
    Stock Code:
    BBDB
    Business Type:
    Planemaker
    Date Founded:
    1942-07-10

Tomorrow will mark 31 years since the Bombardier CRJ series made its first flight on May 10th, 1991. The design, whose acronym-based name stands for Canadair Regional Jet, entered service just over a year later (with Lufthansa CityLine) in October 1992. Three decades on, what are the oldest examples still in service?

Top of the list

According to data from ch-aviation.com, more than 1,000 active examples of the Bombardier CRJ family (across all variants) remain in the world today. The most senior of these 1,104 rear-engined twinjets bears the registration 5Y-AXG, and is a CRJ200LR that flies for Nairobi-based carrier African Express Airways.

This aircraft, which features a 50-seat (four-abreast) all-economy configuration, is 29.38 years old, and was delivered to Lufthansa CityLine back in December 1992 as D-ACLC. After more than a decade of flying for the German flag carrier's regional division, it became XA-UHB upon joining Alma de México in April 2007.

The aircraft had a shorter tenure at this carrier, and left after just over a year in September 2008. April 2010 saw it move to Kenya, where it first joined JetLink Express as 5Y-JLB. Just under three years later, it departed in December 2012, after which African Express Airways picked it up as 5Y-AXG in September 2014.

African Express Airways Bombarider CRJ200LR
5Y-AXG is African Express Airways' only Bombardier CRJ series aircraft. Photo: Alan Wilson via Flickr

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The series also serves VIP purposes

Coming in second place by the metric of age, and just a fraction younger than 5Y-AXG, is a 29.3-year-old CRJ100SE which currently bears the registration T7-BGD. The 'T7' prefix indicates that the aircraft is registered in San Marino, despite its present owners (Bancroft Specialty Logistics) being based over in the US.

This aircraft differs from 5Y-AXG in the sense that it is used privately, and subsequently features a VIP seating configuration. It was first delivered to American printing giant Xerox back in January 1993, for whom it flew as N5100X. It retained this registration upon leaving Xerox and joining Limited Stores in March 2001.

Just a month later, in April 2001, it moved on to Boston Enterprises, which first re-registered it as N501LS, followed by N601LS in September 2002. It also flew for Directional Vision as N601LS between June 2003 and February 2016. It then spent just over two years under the ownership of Challenger Management, before eventually joining Bancroft Specialty Logistics in June 2018.

Private Bombardier CRJ100
T7-BGD has flown for various corporate operators in its 29.3 years of service. Photo: Alec Wilson via Flickr

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A freighter in third place

The third-oldest active Bombardier CRJ series aircraft left in the world carriers neither scheduled passengers nor corporate VIPs. Rather, it serves as a cargo jet, following a conversion more than a decade ago. Registered as SE-DUY, this Bombardier CRJ200LR(PF) ('Package Freighter') clocks in at 28.68 years old.

The aircraft began life as D-ACLK, and was delivered to Lufthansa CityLine back in September 1993. However, following a conversion, it has spent the last 15 years flying cargo for West Atlantic Sweden on behalf of Posten Norge. At the time of writing, it was airborne on a flight between Tromso and Longyearbyen.

Did you know that such old Bombardier CRj series aircraft were still active today? Have you ever flown on the type? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!