Farväl/Adjö/Farvel Boeing 737

SAS has said goodbye to the Boeing 737 with a special flight on 19 November 2023. The carrier has historically been a heavy user of the 737 but has gradually been replacing them with more modern and fuel efficient versions of the Airbus A320 family.

The honour of the last 737 flight fell to LN-RRB (32276), which started its last working from Oslo-Gardermoen Airport as flight SK816 to Düsseldorf, Germany. After returning as flight SK817 it made its last journey to Stockholm Arlanda Airport, as flight SK884. There the aircraft was made ready for a special commemoration flight, using the appropriate flight number SK737.

For this special flight 141 passengers where onboard, who had booked tickets well in advance! It offered surprises for all of them, including SAS Plus amenities, facts about the aircraft, a quiz and involved a couple who met onboard the aircraft and worked together on its last journey. This is a nice YouTube-video of that last flight, showing the whole experience onboard.

The final flight visited all of Scandinavian's capitals (Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm) before landing at Oslo Gardermoen. After a normal departure out of Stockholm the 737 flew to Copenhagen, where it made a low pass over the runway, before climbing out for the last bit to Oslo.

Enroute the Boeing made did some skywriting in the air and 'wrote' 700, since LN-RRB was a 737-700 series aircraft. It then proceeded to Oslo, where another low pass was made, before finally touching down on runway 01R, at 21:19 hours local time.

It is the end of an era, considering SAS’ long association with the Boeing 737. They have operated more than 100 737 aircraft over the years, including the 737-400, -500, -600, -700, and -800. Currently they still have one 737 flying (LN-RPJ (30192)), which it is doing for transport of wounded people from Ukraine to Norway on behalf of the Norwegian government. That contract will expire next year.

Picture: Flightradar24