Summary
- The world’s oldest active Airbus A320 is JY-JAC, a 35.4-year-old aircraft operated by Jordan Aviation.
- Its manufacturer serial number is 029 (!).
- When writing this article on June 7, it is on its fifth flight of the day.
More scheduled airline flights are on the A320 than any other aircraft type or variant. Of more than 5,800 active A320s, ch-aviation shows that the oldest is JY-JAC, part of Jordan Aviation’s fleet. The frame is 35.4 years old. It was delivered to its first airline user in April 1989.
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This article was researched and written in May 2024.
A brief history of the aircraft
It was delivered brand-new to the once-famous Ansett Australia as VH-HYG. Later, it was part of Balkan Holidays’ fleet as LZ-BHA, during which time it was leased to Vietnam’s Pacific Airlines.
It was with Greece Airways as SX-BLX, which included a stint with Air Scotland, which used Greece Airways’ air operator’s certificate. It operated in an adventurous all-white livery.
According to ch-aviation, Greece Airways retired the frame in November 2006, when it was already 17 years old, after which it was stored. Two years later, it was in Jordan Aviation’s fleet as JY-JAC. It was quickly and briefly leased to Syrian Arab (SyrianAir) and existed in a partial livery.
Jordan Aviation sometimes leases JY-JAC, which seems to have 168 seats in an all-economy layout, to other operators. For example, Flightradar24 shows that it flew for Moldova’s FlyOne between June and November 2023, operating in the following striking partial livery. It was flown from Chișinău to 12 European and Caucasian airports.
Photo: Düsseldorf Airport
Where is JY-JAC flying?
Examining Flightradar24 information shows that the world’s oldest active A320 is flying on Jordan Aviation’s own routes. Between May 1 and June 7, 2024, it flew from Amman, Jordan’s capital, to the following airports.
Image: GCMap
On June 7, the day I am researching this article, JY-JAC left Amman at 04:07, bound for Sharm El Sheikh, arriving at 05:05 (ouch). It departed for Jordan at 06:01. Its next operation was to/from Jeddah, leaving Amman at 08:02 and arriving back at 12:56. When writing, it is currently cruising at 37,000 feet en route to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.
Not Jordan Aviation’s oldest aircraft
At 35.4 years, it’d be easy to conclude that JY-JAC must be the airline’s oldest frame. Not so, but it is close:
- JY-JAX, a 36.1-year-old 737-300 (although it is parked; it last flew on May 10, 2024)
- JY-JAL: a 35.6-year-old 767-200ER (active; flown on the day of writing)
- JY-JAC: 35.4-year-old A320 (active; flown on the day of writing)
- JY-JAD: a 34.1-year-old 737-300 (active; flown on the day of writing)
- JY-JVA: a 23.1-year-old A330-200 (parked; not flown since September 2022)
- JY-JVB: a 17.2-year-old A330-200 (parked; not flown since September 2023)
What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comments section.