German leisure carrier Condor is currently in the process of retiring its legendary 
Boeing 757-300 aircraft. These stretched narrowbody twinjets have been amongst the most distinctive commercial planes in European skies in recent years, following the application of the airline’s new striped livery. However, a notable exception, that was thus even more distinctive, was an example that bore the registration D-ABON.
Instead of stripes, this plane is known for having worn Condor’s famous ‘Wir lieben Fliegen’ (‘we love flying’) livery, with colorful hearts adorned all the way along the lengthy aircraft’s considerable white fuselage. D-ABON, which is nicknamed ‘Willi’ as a short form of the name of its livery, served the airline for more than 25 years, but it has now been flown to Wales for storage amid the 757-300’s retirement.
The Last Flight
According to tracking data made available by Flightradar24, D-ABON made its final flight yesterday morning. Numbered as DE104787, the aircraft took off from the Condor base at Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) in North Rhine-Westphalia at 11:33 on Monday, and flew more or less directly to the west for just over an hour. It eventually touched down 81 minutes later, at an airport that no airline serves commercially.
The facility in question is St Athan (DGX). This airfield, located immediately to the west of the commercial hub that is Cardiff Airport (CWL), has become synonymous with retirements in recent years, as it is home to Europe’s largest aircraft dismantler. D-ABON landed there at 11:54 yesterday morning, bringing its flying days with Condor to an end. In a wider statement on the 757-300’s retirement, the airline said that:
“For 35 years, Boeing aircraft have been part of the Condor fleet, which makes the farewell to the last representative of this type a significant moment not only for aviation fans, but also for many employees.”
D-ABON’s Final Days
According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, D-ABON is almost 25.5 years old, having first flown back in May of 2000. This Boeing 757-300 was delivered to Condor a month later, and it remained in service at the German leisure carrier for a quarter of a century. Data from Planespotters.net shows that it had 252 seats when it entered service, but this figure increased to 275 in 2015.
Despite its advanced age and impending retirement, D-ABON continued carrying passengers right up until the day before it was flown to storage. This weekend saw it operate two round trips from Düsseldorf to Palma de Mallorca (PMI) on Friday, while Saturday had rotations to OIbia (OLB) and Corfu (CFU) in store. It bowed out on Sunday with another two return trips to Palma, landing in Düsseldorf at 21:29.
The aircraft, which was stored in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt (FRA) from September of 2020 to May of 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic, had racked up a grand total of 70,148 hours across 23,132 cycles at the time of its last measurement on February 28 of this year. This equates to an average of seven hours and 45 minutes of usage every day, so the retirement of ‘Willi’ will give it a well-earned rest.
The End Of An Era
As it happens, D-ABON isn’t the only Condor Boeing 757 heading for retirement at the moment. Indeed, the carrier is bringing its operations of the type to a close, with tomorrow (October 29) seeing one of its last commercial outings. This will see a 757-300 fly from Düsseldorf to Palma.
Following this, the last regularly scheduled services with the type will come in the form of a round trip from Frankfurt to Hurghada (HRG) in Egypt on November 2. The curtain will then come down on Condor’s 757-300 era with a special flight from Frankfurt to Vienna (VIE) on November 5.
According to the carrier, the Austrian capital city will play host to “a dedicated farewell event” for the Boeing 757-300, before the aircraft makes its way back to Frankfurt. Condor explains that “to conclude the day, the world’s highest party will take place on the return flight,” marking a fitting farewell for the type. The airline auctioned 75 tickets for the flight on its website, making them hot property for 757 fans.
