When flight LX7545 arrived in Zurich after a short hop from Geneva on August 15, it marked the end of an era in SWISS aviation.    With the completion of this flight came the retirement of SWISS’ last Avro RJ100 aircraft, one of 21 that had served SWISS dutifully for 15 years.    In addition to the RJ100, SWISS had also operated 4 of RJ85 variant.

During its 2 decades of service, this workhorse earned the nickname of ‘Jumbolino’ due to the fact that it hung 4 engines from its wings as it sought to imitate much larger aircraft even though it served as a short haul specialist.

SWISS’ last RJ100 arrives to a water cannon salute after completing its final flight. (Photo Credit: SWISS).

According to SWISS, the RJ100 fleet flew over 700,000 hours and operated well over a half-million flights during its successful tenure with the airline.

The retirement of the Jumbolino was primarily due to the addition of Bombardier C-series aircraft to the fleet.   With the C-series, SWISS gains substantial operational improvement and capacity over the RJ100.  Currently there are 10 C-Series (8 of the -100, and 2 of the -300 variant), with plans for 20 more to join the fleet by the end of next year.

3 RJ100s remain in service with Brussels Airlines but their retirement is planned before the end of the year.  Lufthansa Group will no longer operate the aircraft type after SN retires their 3 birds.