Some Interesting Airline Subfleets of the Past!

Just like a Swiss Army knife, every aircraft in an airline’s fleet serves a specific purpose—Air India’s 787s handle medium-haul missions, the 777s take on long-haul duties, and the A350 leads as the flagship. But airlines didn’t always get to stick to their perfect playbook. Out of necessity, opportunity, or pure capacity crunch, they sometimes introduce aircraft that evolve into quirky subfleets hidden within otherwise predictable lineups.

A Braniff 747SP. Picture via Braniff International

In this piece, we’ll explore some of the most interesting airline subfleets of the past—defined here as aircraft types with at least two frames and a service life of over three

years. Let’s dive in!

India's Boeing Bonanza

Air India has long been a significant customer for Boeing, operating nearly all the types within the Boeing family. The 777 and the 747 are two iconic long-haul aircraft to have been operated by the airline, but there are two variants in this family that a lot of people do not remember. Sandwiched between the classic 747-200 and the Iconic 747-400, Air India operated 747-300 jets. Delivered around 1988, these jets were different from the rest of the fleet. Not only were these 2 747-300 the only ones in the fleet to use the General Electric engines instead of Pratt and Whitney, they also were the combi variants which could carry both passengers and cargo on the main deck. The 747-300s operated for almost 20 years, between 1988 and 2008, and primarily served cargo-heavy routes to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Frankfurt.

An Air India 747-300M at BOM. Picure by Sean D'Silva via Planespotters.net

In the early 2000s, Air India was on a massive leasing spree in an attempt to compete for market share as the Gulf carriers started to grow in dominance, and Indian carriers started to expand further. In the midst of this, Air India introduced 1 Ex-United Airlines Boeing 777-200 and 3 Boeing 777-200ERs. These were the first 777s operated by the airline powered by the Pratt and Whitney PW4000 engines. These aircraft were used to restart flights to Toronto via Birmingham and were also used on routes to the UK, the US, and Japan. As the newer 777s arrived, these were replaced and returned to their lessors.

An Air India 777-200ER approaching LHR. Photo by Darren Varney via Planespotters.net

Emirates Airbus Reandevouz

Emirates, India's unofficial flag carrier, might be famous for operating only a few fleet types, but in its early years, it operated multiple different aircraft. Being the largest operator of the 777 aircraft, it may come as a surprise to many that the airline operated A340s, its direct rival! The airline operated A340s from 2003 to 2016, utilizing two variants: the A340-300 and the ultra-rare A340-500, which was one of the most interesting cases.

Emirates A340-500 approaching DXB. Picture via Jan Saba via Planespotters.net

Introduced in 2003, the A340-500s were brought in to fly ultra-long-haul non-stop flights from Dubai to New York and Sydney. These were the first aircraft to introduce the now-famous Emirates first class product, also fitted on its A380, a symbol of luxury and opulence!

First Class onboard Emirates A340-500. Picture via Svenblogt

The A340-300 arrived a year later in 2004. Interestingly, the jets were ex-Singapore Airlines jets when they decided to let go of them for Boeing 777s. These jets flew mainly to East Asia, Europe, and Africa to destinations like Frankfurt, Zurich, Hong Kong, and Johannesburg.

Emirates A340-300 departing HKG. Picture by Mohit Purswani via Planespotters.net

Baby Jumbo

In the aviation world, no aircraft has ever fascinated me as much as the Boeing 747SP. Launched in 1975, the Baby 747 was made for long-haul missions as specified by numerous airlines. These aircraft were later used for long-haul missions by airlines like Pan Am, on routes to Dharan, Bahrain, and Tokyo from New York and San Francisco to Hong Kong and Iran Air, launching non-stop flights to JFK. However, a few interesting operators were operating this type.

Some of Pan Am 747sp routes. Picture via JessVargas722 via Reddit

Qantas is one of the few that had an interesting purpose for their SPs. Belovedly called the "Stubby Puppy", the 747SPs were used for the Sydney-Wellington route due to Wellington having a smaller runway, which the SP could only fly to. They also flew it to the US with flights to Los Angeles.

A Qantas 747SP. Picture via Qantas Newsroom

TWA was the other airline that came to mind. Originally brought in for flights to China, these jets ended up being used for missions to Europe and flew flights to the Middle East, like Cairo. Interestingly, these jets were bought by American Airlines to begin Dallas to Tokyo flights.

A TWA 747SP. Picture via Internett Archives

An interesting case of the 747SP's full potential could be seen from South African Airlines' use of the aircraft. During the apartheid era, South African-registered flights could not fly through most of Africa, so South African airlines used the 747SPs to fly to Europe by bypassing the entirety of the African continent

South African Airlines' route map during the apartheid era, where the 747SP was used. Picture via Departed Flights

Braniff was another forgotten airline that operated the 747SPs across the Pacific to destinations in Asia, although I could find little information on them.

The 747SPs were surprisingly popular aircraft in the Middle East, mostly being used as a vip aircraft with a few passenger aircraft. Syrianair operated a pair of 747SPs as well. Intended to fly to New York, these jets ended up flying to the Middle East and Europe