2023-07-28 11:00:00
The airline company Swiss International Air Lines said goodbye to its oldest aircraft, a Airbus A321 having been operated for more than 27 years.
The registered A321 HB-IOC of the Swiss flag carrier completed its last voyage following more than 27 years of service at Swissair and SWISS. He was the oldest member of the fleet. The legendary “Olympic plane” which evoked the International Olympic Committee (IOC in English), was transferred “a few months ago” to Castellon in Spain to be dismantled there, in order to recover the detached pieces. The single-aisle of the Lufthansa Group subsidiary and member of Star Alliancelast baptized “St. Moritz”, transported for more than 27 years more than 7 million passengersoperating 47,000 take-offs and landings and over 73,000 flight hours.
The withdrawal of the HB-IOC fleet – called Phase-Out in technical jargon – “is part of a pilot project conducted by SWISS to examine how certain components can be recycled in a more ecologically and economically sustainable way”. Switzerland’s largest airline stresses in its press release that it “reuses many components as spare parts for its fleet that is still in operation. In addition, parts of the cabin are used within the Lufthansa Group, for example for the modernization of cabin simulators. As part of a comprehensive life cycle management, specialists “recycle non-reusable components to recover mainly aluminum and other high quality alloys”.
Fans of aviation and design will be able to rejoice this fall to discover designer furniture and other accessoriesall made from components of the legendary HB-IOC.
Built in 1995 and originally named “Neuchâtel”, then “Lausanne”, the Swiss A321 was affectionately nicknamed “the old lady” by many employees. Due to its registration HB-IOC, the Airbus was also called “Olympic aircraft”, in reference to the International Olympic Committee (IOC in English), and for a few years even sported a special Olympic Games livery.
©SWISS
©SWISS
©SWISS
©SWISS
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