Aviogenex 737-200
Join Date: Jun 2010
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As I mentioned on another thread, Aviogenex picked up two 727s which were state aircraft used by Tito. They flew in parallel with him deciding at the last minute which one he was going to fly on to reduce the risk of getting shot down. Given what happened in the country after he died, maybe this was not quite as crazy as it now sounds. In any case JAT the national airline also operated 727s, so I suspect there was ample engineering support in county. All those years ago Yugoslavia as it then was with Tito treading a line between east and west was a curious, but relatively stable place. Yugotours developed a strong business flying several hundred thousand people mainly to the Dalmatian coast, which was actually a cradle of modern tourism. The Grand hotel on the island of Lopud near Dubrovnik built in the thirties, with architectural cues that remind you of an ocean liner, was one of the first seaside tourist hotels paving the way for the many thousands more that have sprung up all round the world subsequently.
I flew with them as a passenger in the early eighties to Dubrovnik and back and had a good experience. In the noughties I flew for a charter operator that had me there nearly every week for a while. Beautiful airport and fun flying unless the Bora wind was blowing, when things could get a bit exciting. For an airport near the sea it is surprisingly high up and looking out from the cabin the transition from seemingly being quite high over the sea to suddenly landing has taken a few cabin crew by surprise. Sadly I only overnighted there once, but it is somewhere I very much intend to revisit once this craziness is over.
Thread Starter
It's curious that Aviogenex bought the 732 when their chums at JAT had already been operating the 733 for over a year. Perhaps the company was looking for spares commonality with the 727 or maybe Boeing offered a very good deal. Who knows ?
Not sure about the other Yugoslav Government Boeing 727 but here is a brief detail concerning YU-AKD.
Boeinging 727-2L8 YU-AKD was delivered to the Yugoslav Government in 1975 with a dual civil and governmental registration, the governmental registration being 14302.
The aircraft went to Aviogenex in 1983 as YU-AKD.
The aircraft was leased to the Danish company Sterling Airlines between 1986 and 1987 and re-registered as OY-SBJ. The aircraft returned to Aviogenex in April 1987 and assumed the registration of YU-AKD.
The aircraft seemed to have quite a varied career as it was leased to some other operator's before being eventually withdrawn from service. I also believe that it was the last passenger Boeing 727 operating in Europe. It was scrapped at Belgrade in 2006.
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD at London Heathrow Airport in July 1979.
Boeing 727 2L8 YU-AKD at Luton Airport 15 June 1981
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD on lease to Sterling Airlines as OY-SBJ, wearing the Aviogenex cheatline with Sterling Airlines titles and tail colour's. Seen at Salzburg Airport, Austria in January 1987.
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD at London Gatwick Airport on the 16 June 1989.
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD at Manchester Airport on 05 October 1990. Not sure what airline it had previously been operating for when this photo was taken, it could well have been JAT but I stand to be corrected.
Boeinging 727-2L8 YU-AKD was delivered to the Yugoslav Government in 1975 with a dual civil and governmental registration, the governmental registration being 14302.
The aircraft went to Aviogenex in 1983 as YU-AKD.
The aircraft was leased to the Danish company Sterling Airlines between 1986 and 1987 and re-registered as OY-SBJ. The aircraft returned to Aviogenex in April 1987 and assumed the registration of YU-AKD.
The aircraft seemed to have quite a varied career as it was leased to some other operator's before being eventually withdrawn from service. I also believe that it was the last passenger Boeing 727 operating in Europe. It was scrapped at Belgrade in 2006.
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD at London Heathrow Airport in July 1979.
Boeing 727 2L8 YU-AKD at Luton Airport 15 June 1981
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD on lease to Sterling Airlines as OY-SBJ, wearing the Aviogenex cheatline with Sterling Airlines titles and tail colour's. Seen at Salzburg Airport, Austria in January 1987.
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD at London Gatwick Airport on the 16 June 1989.
Boeing 727-2L8 YU-AKD at Manchester Airport on 05 October 1990. Not sure what airline it had previously been operating for when this photo was taken, it could well have been JAT but I stand to be corrected.
Last edited by Sotonsean; 21st Apr 2020 at 10:17.
Beautiful looking aircraft and the Sterling pictures remind me of the thread we had around four years ago about Sterling's very interesting long haul operation of short haul aircraft. They were flying caravelles to India with multiple stops and of course across the Atlantic. I doubt there is anyone still around who can remember much of the technical detail. But I would be fascinated by some of the flight ops nitty gritty.
Last edited by lederhosen; 21st Apr 2020 at 10:08.
Not sure what airline it had previously been operating for when this photo was taken, it could well have been JAT but I stand to be corrected.
Beautiful looking aircraft and the Sterling pictures remind me of the thread we had around four years ago about Sterling's very interesting long haul operation of short haul aircraft. They were flying caravelles to India with multiple stops of course and across the Atlantic. I doubt there is anyone still around who can remember much of the technical detail. But I would be fascinated by some of the flight ops nitty gritty.
I recently started the Stansted Airport History and Nostalgia thread and it's got to nearly 18 pages in less than a month and I've not long uploaded several photos of Sterling Airlines Boeing 727's, Caravelle's and DC8-63 taken at the airport. Although to be honest if your that is interested there are literally hundreds online to view.
I won't discuss Sterling Airlines any further on this thread as it's the Aviogenex Boeing 737-200 thread. Something that I try and avoid at all costs is "thread drift" as I personally find it extremely frustrating 😉
The Yugoslav civil war started on the 31 March 1991 so your correct when you state that it was probably the last summer of the Yugotours operations although the company existed until 1995 before it eventually closed down.
Many thanks for pointing that out as that answers my question 😉
Last edited by Sotonsean; 21st Apr 2020 at 13:44.
Good idea Sotonsean and by the way I love the photos and other information you have dug out. But to be honest my interest is more in the operational details, how they flight planned and navigated across the Atlantic and crewed the flights for example. After some really good contributions the last thread about Sterling dried up in December 2016, because there were really not that many people on here who could add much. Frankly despite this purportedly being a site for professional pilots I think real ones are in a decided minority. There are people like Denti and Wiggy etc. who obviously are pilots and who post great stuff. Don't get me wrong there are many fantastic non pilot contributors without which the site would be a lot less interesting. But people who were involved in operating for Sterling back then and can post authentically from the horse's mouth I don't think they are going to show up. Again I would love to be proved wrong. I agree with you about thread drift, so I will leave it at that.
