The Fokker 100 was a Dutch manufactured aircraft which first flew on 30 November 1986. Seating around 100 passengers in a two class layout, it entered service with Swissair on 3 April 1988.
Powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Tay turbofan engines, a total of 283 Fokker 100s rolled off the Amsterdam production line. Around one third of the worldwide fleet is flying in Australia, with Iran accounting for almost the same amount.
Fokker 100 Video
Following on from last weeks video about the Vickers VC10, this week there are a couple of promotional videos about the Fokker.
American Airlines ordered 75 Fokker 100 aircraft with 75 options in March 1989. Delivery in 1991 inspired the airline to showcase the new jet with the four minute video below.
The Dutch jet beat the British Aerospace 146, the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 and the Boeing 737-500 in a four way competition. American paid around US$20 million per aircraft, according to this New York Times article.
It is interesting to see the brand new cabin interior of the time. First class arranged two by two as is standard, while economy class is five abreast. This seating arrangement means less middle seats and is the same used today on the Bombardier CSeries, now known as the Airbus A220.
Fokker 100 Marketing Video
Perhaps American Airlines were influenced by the Fokker marketing department video? This is presented below and runs for just under 14 minutes. It gives a detailed look at the aircraft and the technology it incorporates.
Not stated is the fact the Fokker 100 was supposed to be an evolution of the Fokker F28. Changes to the design of the new aircraft almost bankrupted Fokker in the late 1980s, with the Dutch government bailing out the business. Fokker eventually went bankrupt in 1996.
Overall Thoughts
At around 9,000 kilograms lighter than the old Boeing 737-500, the Fokker 100 was more economical to operate. It provided service for airlines as diverse as KLM, USAir, Air UK, TAM, China Eastern, Air Inter, Avianca and Mexicana to name but a few.
In Australia, it operates fly in, fly out services for the mining industry. It is inexpensive to acquire and the two tail mounted engines mean it is suitable for rough runways.
Have you flown on the Fokker 100? What did you think? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Groningen Airport Eelde Collection via Airliners.net
I flew on one once from Newark to O’Hare. Small but smooth.
Good to hear, thanks for sharing that!
I used to fly these often out of DFW to Houston NW Arkansas and other places. First was not quite what was expected by most travelers. I have to agree about the ac, but the D.C. 9’s weren’t much better
Maybe due to the smaller aircraft size, they couldn’t have the better air conditioning that others had. What was wrong with first? In the AA video there it looks similar to the old AA first class I’ve tried. Thanks for the comment!
Just Flew one of these last week from Zurich to Munich was a great flight
That’s fantastic! There are a few left with Helvetic, so it’s great you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment!
Also known as the Dutch Oven, because the air conditioner is so weak!
Hahahahaha! 🙂 Must have been designed for those much milder European summers when compared to the USA. I wonder how it is going in Australia? It’s not exactly cool down there. Thanks for the laugh 🙂
I fly them frequently with Air Niugini. Also fly the Fokker 70. Nice ride.
I haven’t flown on a Fokker since 1985, would you believe, and they were my first two flights ever. I’m going to have to make a point of some flights when I next head to Australia. Thanks for the comment!