Over the weekend, Ryanair announced it would be opening a base at Budapest with four based Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline will operate routes to 31 destinations from the airport, starting 17th February 2012.

Now, Wizz Air has announced it is to base an additional two Airbus A320 aircraft at Budapest to boost its schedules. It will operate flights to 21 destinations, increasing weekly frequencies from 67 to 129 flights.

This will strengthen the presence of both airlines at the airport, and make it very difficult for any new or restarted national airline in Hungary to gain a foothold in the future. It also seriously diminishes the full service options for passengers.

Memphis, TN
You’ve gotta love FedEx. They keep old birds flying. But they also have many new aircraft coming on line, such as the B777F which are replacing the older types.

For the time being, you can head to their Memphis, TN, base to catch quite a few classic B727 and DC/MD-10 aircraft coming and going each day. Depending on whether you consider A300-600 and A310-300 aircraft to be old or not, you can also see those. Also, as the airline is bringing in lots of second-hand B757 freighters, it’s another one I’ll leave you to decide on whether they’re an old jet or not!

Jakarta, Indonesia
Last time I visited Jakarta’s main CGK airport, it was still a hub for B727′s, B737-200′s, DC-9′s, DC-10′s and F-28′s. It was incredible, and great for filling lots of gaps in my log book from the 80′s and 90′s.

Today there are still a number of these types around, but it has dwindled significantly. More prevalent are MD-80′s and B737-300/400′s, which are becoming classics.

Tehran Mehrabad, Iran
Iran’s sanctions have meant its many airlines are forced to use older types in passenger service. The famed Saha Air B707′s are still here, though the rumours constantly say they will be retired imminently. Elsewhere at this domestic airport you’ll see Yak42′s, B727-200′s, MD-80′s, B747-200′s,  A300B2/B4′s, A310-200′s and a few other Russian types. Sadly the TU-154 and IL-62 aircraft no longer fly passengers in Iran.

Tehran is, for the time being, still open to tourists. But the political situation is always fragile and likely to change. So check before travelling!

Pyonyang, North Korea
Air Koryo, the national carrier or North Korea, still operates a number of classics from its Pyonyang base. These include TU-154′s, TU-204′s, IL-18′s, and IL-62′s. Recently there was an enthusiast’s tour announced that took in flights on all of these types. You can also simply fly in from Beijing and arrange domestic flights.

Detroit Willow Run Airport
The original Detroit Airport is now mainly a cargo hub. Whilst the number of classic types operating here has declined, you can still see older B727′s, B747-100/200′s, DC-9′s, and Lockheed Electras around the place regularly.

It will see two MD-80 aircraft based there for scheduled operations to a number of airports. Routes include:

Billings, MO
Bozeman, MO
Kalispell, MO
Idaho Falls, ID
Medford, OR
Missoula, MO
Redmond, OR

These are in addition to the airline’s existing routes from Oakland to Bellingham, WA, Eugene, OR, and Phoenix-Mesa, AZ.

The three routes announced are from Toyko Narita to San Jose, CA, Seattle, WA, and Washington DC Dulles.

Flights begin on 1 April 2012.

Great news for spotters over there, and I think this proves to some degree (San Jose) that the 787 will be used to try out more niche long haul routes.

As a side note, there will, however, be a delay to the planned Beijing and Frankfurt 787 services due to a delay in delivery of the third aircraft to ANA.

As author of the book Last Chance to Fly, the reason it caught my attention so much was the fact that you will get to fly on the Ilyushin IL-62, Antonov AN-24, Ilyushin IL-18 and either Tupolev TU154 or TU204. I would love the chance to do this.

I can guarantee this will be one of your last chances to take a flight on these aircraft, as very few now fly passengers anywhere in the world.

The 7 day tour takes place in May 2012 from Beijing, China, and sees you fly to Pyongyang and a number of domestic airports, whilst taking in the sights and local culture on an excellent itinerary.

The price is EUR 1,675 per person.

Sadly this may be a little expensive for me, so I may not get to fly on these classic airliners. But I hope some of you will give it a go and send us some pictures!

You can read more about it on the Juche Travel Services website http://www.juchetravelservices.com/news.html

Whilst this information comes on good authority, and it seems there is a good chance it’ll happen, people are also saying they’re poised to switch it back to the usual Boeing 777-300 at last minute. There’s also the fact that the new international pier is well behind schedule and not likely to open until December.

Any updates would be appreciated if you are ‘in the know’

TAS Manchester‘s website has the full list of what’s due, and a schedule. Be warned, most will operate early in the morning and late at night!

The Aviation Viewing Park at Manchester Airport will open at 5am on 27th and 28th May. Normal prices apply.

Click here for the list of flights.

A large number of flights will also operate on 26th May.

Those of you in Barcelona or Rome will also be treated to a large number of extra flights on those days.

Parking and entrance is free. Inside you’ll find many booths and tables selling all kinds of books, DVDs, models, slides etc.

You can also take part in ramp tours of Rotterdam Airport (I did one of these a couple of years ago and it proved very fruitful!). There’s also the chance to take a sightseeing flight to Amsterdam.

The event is open from 10am to 4pm. See this link for more information.

Upstairs, Rotterdam has a great viewing gallery overlooking the apron.

The days of operation are: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

The aircraft arrives from Sydney – Singapore on QF30/31

Currently a 5x weekly service is operating from New York JFK (sometimes via Halifax) to Liege in Belgium. This operates Tuesday-Saturday mornings.

Rumours are that more links with TNT will be flown by ABX Air in the near future. This is a great chance to see some rarer aircraft to our skies and airports.