German leisure carrier Condor is preparing to mark the end of an era in European aviation. The airline is the last in Europe to fly the Boeing 757-300, and will operate its final flight with the type on Wednesday.

British Airways was the first European airline to operate the Boeing 757, first taking delivery of the type over four decades ago in February 1983. This isn’t the end of the 757 in Europe, as airlines such as United Airlines and Icelandair will continue to fly the type across the Atlantic Ocean for the foreseeable future.

A Final Farewell Planned For Wednesday

Condor’s final Boeing 757 farewell is planned for Wednesday. The airline will fly invited guests and those lucky enough to secure one of 75 tickets at auction to Vienna and back. Those not lucky enough to get a ticket will be able to wave farewell as the aircraft flies to Austria and back one last time. The final flights are scheduled to run as follows,

For those lucky enough to snag a ticket for one of this year’s hottest flights, Condor promises “the world’s highest party” featuring a DJ on the return flight, exclusive memorabilia, and unique photography opportunities. Remarking on the event in September, Christian Schmitt, COO of Condor, said,

The Last Regular Passenger Flights Have Flown

If you haven’t already managed to buy a ticket to fly on Condor’s Boeing 757-300 before retirement, then you are unfortunately out of luck. The airline’s last regular passenger flights took place yesterday. D-ABOI had the honor of operating the last regular flight of the type, with a return hop from Frankfurt Airport to Hurghada in Egypt.

The data below from FlightRadar24.com shows actual flight times, with scheduled flight times shown in brackets.

The aircraft was previously also flying from Dusseldorf Airport. The last Dusseldorf Condor 757 service took place last Wednesday, connecting the German city to Palma de Mallorca. The same aircraft (D-ABOI) was also used for the final Dusseldorf flight.

Condor Will Fly An All-Airbus Fleet From Thursday

With the retirement of the final Boeing 757-300, there will also be a shift in the overall fleet direction of Condor. As of Thursday, the German airline will only operate Airbus aircraft. The airline has been slowly adding widebodies from the Airbus A330neo family to accompany its growing A320 family fleet.

According to data from ch aviation, Condor currently operates 18 Airbus A330-900 aircraft and 33 Airbus A320 family aircraft. In addition, it is wet leasing a further 13 Airbus A320 family aircraft, giving a total A320 family fleet of 46 aircraft.

Source: Simple Flying