Vienna Airlines 747s | 1990

(TOP)
Airline - Vienna Airlines
Aircraft - Boeing 747-300 | OE-LHC
Delivered to Vienna Airlines, 1988
Sold to British International, 1992
Sold to Atlantic Charter, 1999
Leased to MoscAvia, 1999
Returned to Atlantic Charter, 2002
Leased to Kievan Airlines, 2004
Returned to Atlantic Charter, 2008
Stored at Bruntingthorpe, 2008
Sold to Vacation Air, 2010
Livery - Standard 1977-1990
Country - Austria

(BOTTOM)
Airline - Vienna Airlines
Aircraft - Boeing 747-400 | OE-LIA
Delivered to Vienna Airlines, 1990
Stored at Vienna International Airport, 2015
Stored at Teruel Airport, 2017
Livery - Standard 1990-2009
Country - Austria

Part of a series showing the history of the 747-300 shown wearing a Vacation Air livery in the previous upload. One of the last -300s built, it began life as OE-LHC, delivered to Vienna Airlines in 1988 and painted in the livery of the time. While Vienna Airlines had operated several dozen 747-200s over its history - including a few -200SUDs - it only flew three 747-300s, using only the first three letters of the -LHx registration series. When the order for sixteen 747-400s was placed in 1987, almost all outstanding -300 orders were cancelled - except for three aircraft, which were taken up in 1987-88 to keep up with demand while awaiting the much more modern -400 variant. OE-LHC is shown here wearing the 1977 livery, which it wore throughout its time with Vienna Airlines - when the new livery was rolled out in 1990 (introducing the Vienna Airlines Sparrow logo), none of the 747-300s were repainted, and all three were soon sold by 1992.

Shown below is OE-LIA, the first 747-400 to be delivered. It was the first aircraft to wear the new livery, which was introduced on the 747-400. While this specific aircraft remained in service until 2015 when, at an age of exactly twenty-five years, and followed in the next few years by more retirements of 747-400s, nine aircraft of the type remain in service with Vienna Airlines to this day. LIA was first stored on a remote stand in Vienna, however its final flight - at least for now - was in May of 2017, when it flew to long-term storage in Teruel. In an ironic twist of fate, OE-LHC - which was sold by Vienna Airlines after only four years of use - is still in service with Vacation Air, outlasting the very aircraft that replaced it by at least three years.