Skip to content
Aviationtag X Jet2 !
In its 32.4 years of flying, our G-CELH had 4 airlines, 3 registrations and 2 names - today, in cooperation with Jet2, we are proud to bring you this gem of a plane in the form of an Aviationtag. The Boeing 737-300 with the Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) 23525 launched its career in October 1986 with Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline. The aircraft was christened “Siegen” and took to the skies for the next 11 years with the registration D-ABXD. The city of Siegen (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) became patron of the passenger aircraft on 6 June 1990, with Siegen’s mayor Hilde Fiedle christening it at Cologne/Bonn Airport. The tradition of patronage by cities and Bundesländer at Lufthansa dates back to the 1960s, attesting to its profound ties to its various home locations. Now, Lufthansa’s planes also bear the names of international cities such as Beijing, Zurich or Johannesburg. Our Boeing Siegen flew for the German flag carrier for a total of 11 years.
Between December 1997 and October 1998, Saudi Arabian Airlines and British Airways used the passenger aircraft as leasing partners, re-registering it as TF-ABL. After these short guest stints, Lufthansa reintegrated the Boeing 737 back into its fleet in November 1989, returning it to its original registration D-ABXD and once again naming it after its patron city of Siegen. Until 2004, the plane flew for the airline with the iconic yellow crane to Vienna, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Zurich and Budapest, to name just a few destinations.
In 2004, the low-cost carrier Jet2 added the aircraft to its fleet, renaming it Jet2Faro. The Leeds-based airline founded in 2002 is the fourth largest in the UK and, in addition to its base at Leeds Bradford International Airport, also operates from Manchester, Belfast and Edinburgh airports. In recent years, Jet2 has won multiple accolades, winning Best Airline UK and Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe at the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Awards in both 2017 and 2018. The airline has also ranked among the best ten airlines in the world. Sporting the registration G-CELH, it flew daily for Jet2 from Edinburgh to European destinations. At 31 years of age, the Boeing 737 was thought to be the oldest passenger aircraft in use by a British airline. On 29 September 2018, though, the G-CELH was retired once and for all and had been waiting at Lasham Airport since 22 October 2018 to start its new life as an Aviationtag.
The G-CELH is our first official cooperation with Jet2 and we are honoured to welcome this fantasic carrier to our Aviationtags family as exclusive licence partner!
Get yours now!
Leave a comment