UPDATE: While the fate of the Cubana Ilyushin IL-96 is still not fully clear, a promising sign has emerged that at least two of these aircraft will be restored and put back into service.
Per Granma, the official Communist Party newspaper in Cuba, the state-run Cuban Aviation Corporation S. A. (CACSA) has begun work to restore three jets for service, including two jets for “longhaul” flights:
“[CACSA] is working on the recovery of two long-range and one medium-range aircraft as part of the recovery of the fleet, said Joel Beltrán Archer Santos, president of the entity.
“These processes, he said, have been developed prior to COVID-19 and suffered delays due to the difficulties related to the pandemic. Beltrán believes that these aircraft will return to service in the second half of the year.”
My guess is that the two longhaul flights Santos is referring to are CU-T1250 and CU-T1251, the two IL-96 aircraft that were most often used prior to the pandemic. Per flight records, neither aircraft has flown lately, with the last flight on CU-T1250 from Havana to Moscow and back in August 2022. CU-1251 has not flown in over a year.
There was fear then that Russia would simply buy these aircraft from Cubana in 2022 since Western sanctions against Russia have made it more difficult to obtain spare parts for Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Thankfully, it appeared that the visit of CU-T1250 was just for servicing and the aircraft returned to Havana (where it has not flown for nearly 11 months).
It is not clear how much work, if any, is required to make these aircraft airworthy, but spare parts will certainly be a concern (and may explain why Cubana has four of these aircraft but plans to return only two to service – it may need the parts from the other two).
In any case, it appears we are one step closer to the return of the last commercial operators of the IL-96 and when that plane is restored to service I look forward to traveling to Havana to fly it.
My original story, which appeared on July 20, 2022 is below.
One of my travel goals this year was to fly on the Cubana Illuysihin IL-96 but it now appears the aircraft is grounded. Speculating about the fate of this aircraft or mysterious Cubana Airlines itself is about all we can do.
The Unknown Fate Of The Cubana Ilyushin IL-96
I’ve been waiting for United Airlines to restore service to Havana (HAV) and for the Biden Administration to lift Trump-era restrictions concerning travel and spending money in Cuba. Once that occurs (or perhaps even before it does), I plan to return for the first time in nearly a decade. Havana is fascinating city, but it won’t be to visit Havana – it will be to catch a once-weekly IL-96 operating from Havana to Buenos Aires.
At least that was the plan. For several weeks, the flight has been cancelled. If I try to buy a seat on future Sundays (it only operates on Sundays), the flight does not show in the system. It’s not that the flight is sold out: it simply doesn’t show up at all.
Cubana is (was) using two IL-96, one with tail number CU-T1250 and the other CU-T1251. I’ve been tracking those on Flightradar24 and they have not moved in quite some time.
I realize it is now winter in Argentina and perhaps there is presently little demand for even just a weekly flight between Buenos Aires and Havana. But we have not seen the IL-96 pop up on Cubana’s Madrid route, which instead operates on a wet-leased Airbus A340. Service to Paris Orly and London Gatwick is currently suspended.
I’ve written about my travel regrets before. Specifically, I had a chance to fly the Lockheed L-1011 and didn’t. Huge regret. I had a chance to fly the Douglas DC-10 and didn’t Huge regret. I had the chance to fly an Air France Airbus A380 and didn’t. Huge regret. I had the chance to fly the IL-114 in Uzbekistan with Ben from One Mile At A Time and didn’t. Huge regret. And of course my biggest aviation-related regret of all is that I never flew Concorde. Hopefully, there won’t be regret about this aircraft too. These aircraft are not all that old, but Cubana is the last commercial operator.
CONCLUSION
This post is therapy for me. It’s not like there is anything I can do to influence whether the IL-96 ever flies for Cubana again. I just have to lean in and in the future, balance that while haste makes waste…time waits for no man.
> Read More:
- Any Interest In A Cubana IL-96 Trip Report?
- 5 Planes I Wish I Had Flown
- The Airline of Mystery: Cubana de Aviación
image: Dmitry Terekhov
Maybe it is for the better that you don’t fly these aircraft, safetywise that is …
What about the DC-3? There is a Christmas flight schedule that used to originate out of SNA for a 15-20 minute flight to view Christmas lights on the ground. I took my daughter on that 3-4 years ago, not because of the lights, but because it was a DC-3. The plane was the first I flew as a kid for a while distance of 80 miles on a commercial flight. The plane is based in Chino Hills.
I remember back in 1982 when I worked for New York Air there was an interline offer from BA to fly JFK to LHR on the Concorde and back on a 747. The cost, $50.00. Back then I was making $5.50/hour and didn’t have a spare $50 to take them up on the offer. I have regretted it ever since.
I remember it well. I didn’t do it either, thinking I can always do it “later.”
I also regret not flying Concorde. Back in the late 90s and early 00s (before it sadly stopped flying in 2003) BA offered a special round trip ticket – Concorde Eastbound and the B747 return. They did this as Concorde never sold as well flying eastbound from NY to London, as it did westbound. The ticket price was way below a standard Concorde fare, but still way above my limited budget. In retrospect, I should have tried harder to find the money. Huge regret for me.
You wrote: I had a chance to fly the Lockheed L-1011 and didn’t. Huge regret. I had a chance to fly the Douglas DC-10 and didn’t Huge regret. I had the chance to fly an Air France Airbus A380 and didn’t. Huge regret
That got me thinking as to how many different aircraft I remember flying. The list so far is:
Lockheed Constellation
Lockheed Electra
BAC One-Eleven
B 727, 737, 747, 757, 767
A 319, 320, 321, 340, 380
CRJ 700
ATR 72
Short 330
This was a fun exercise. I’m sure other posters have far more impressive lists.
Indeed jsm.
For me:
A300, 310,320, 321, 340, 350, 380
B 707, 720B, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, 787 (almost all models)
BAC 148
BE 18, 99
Concord (G-BOAC LHR-IAD) – Amazing trip!
CV 440, 580, 880, 990
DC 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 (most models)
DHC 6, 7, 8
F-100
HP 137
HS 748
L-1011
MR 404
SW Metro
SUD Caravelle (UA)
Viscount (UA)
As a pilot, I flew the DC-3, DC-4, DHC-6, HP-137, HS-748, B727-737-747, DC4, DC8, DC9, DC10.
What a wonderful career to have the privileged of flying all these magnificent machines!
We are both showing our age………….
I left out all the RJ’s as I hate them all, especially the CRJ 200 and ERJ 145. The Q400 is actually nice.
United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle – Pissing off America 50 people at at time….
THIS
This makes me feel lucky, having flown aboard the L1011-1, L1011-100, L1011-250, L1011-500, DC-10-10, DC-10-30, and DC-10-40. Sadly, I was not aggressive enough to book the Concorde. I also had the chance to fly on the Dassault Mercure but did not.
Surprisingly, I have never flown aboard an A380. I better get cracking. I see the best chances on a LH, SQ, or QF A380.
Fun game jsm started. My list:
B717, 727, 737 (200,300,700,800,900,MAX8), 747 (200,400,8,8i), 757, 767 (200,300,400), 777 (200,300), 787 (8,9,10)
MD80, MD88, MD90
DC-9, DC-10
L-1011
A220 (100 and 300), 319, 320, 321 (standard and neo), 330, 340, 350 (900 and 1000), 380
Saab 2000
CRJ-500, 900
EMB 170, 175, 190, 195
ATR-72
Fun story on my one flight on the L-1011. My dad hated flying, but was obsessed with that plane. We ended up on a DL Tri-Star ATL-SJU in the summer of 1998 on our way to catch a cruise out of San Juan. I don’t ever recall him being particularly excited (or even happy) getting on a plane, but he actually seemed genuinely thrilled to fly that L-1011. (Something that in hindsight, I find really odd, considering the DL 191 crash at DFW was a Tri-Star.)
You not flying the dc10 makes me feel old!! Seemed a United mainstay when we travelled between australia and Dayton for my dads job. I could only identify which aircraft it was by seeing which line it pulled up to at the gate!!
Going to be a ton of young bloggers wishing they had flown a 747 “back in the day” soon. My son is obsessed with them (he’s 9). Every time we see a new airline he asks if they fly 747s. No, ITA doesn’t have a 747 🙂
I hope he has flown the 747!
Yep! Upper deck on LH from Frankfurt to ord. We deliberately detoured from London and overnighted to catch it. And we skipped the upgrade to F because he wanted upper deck. Was a good decision :). Hes also done qf F on the A380 but sadly (to him) it was downstairs. Lucky kid!!!
707
720
717
727-100/200
737 (all variants)
747 (all variants including the weird SP)
757 (all)
767 (all)
777 (all)
787 (all)
DC 8
DC 9 (all)
DC 10 (all)
MD 11
L-1011 (all including the 500)
BAC 1-11
BAE 146
Concorde (twice when USair had redemptions for it on BA)
A300
A310
A318
A319
A320
A321
A330
A340
A350
A380
Embraer ERJ
Embraer E-Jets
CRJ (all including horrid 200)
Fokker 28 Fellowship
Fokker 70
Fokker 100 (I had another name for these when AA flew them lol)
Wow, this has got me thinking:
A221
A223
A300B4
A300-600
A310
A318
A319
A320
A20N
A321
A21N
A21NLR
A332
A333
A339
A342
A343
A345
A346
A359
A35K
A380
ATR-72
BAC Concorde
BAC1-11 400
BAC 1-11 500 dubbed Super1-11 by BEA/BA
BAe146-100 / Avro RJ70
BAe146-200 / Avro RJ100
707-320
720B
717
727-100
727-200
737-200
737-300
737-400
737-500
737-700
737-800
747-200
747-300
747-400
757-200
767-200
767-300
777-200
777-300
777-300ER
788
789
Bristol Britannia 102
Bristol Britannia 312
Canadair RJ500
Canadair RJ700
Canadair RJ900
De Havilland Comet 4B
De Havilland Comet 4C
DHC – Dash 8-400
Dornier 228
Embraer 170
Embraer 175
Embraer 190
Fokker F27
Fokker F28
Fokker F50
Fokker F70
Fokker F100
HS121 Trident 1C
HS121 Trident 1E
HS121 Trident 3
Lockheed L1011 TriStar 200
Lockheed L1011 TriStar 500
McDonnell Douglas DC8-21
McDonnel Douglas DC8-55
McDonnel Douglas DC8-62
McDonnell Douglas DC9-15
McDonnell Douglas DC9-30
McDonnell Douglas DC9-40
McDonnell Douglas DC9-50
McDonnell Douglas MD81
McDonnell Douglas MD82
McDonnell Douglas MD83
McDonnell Douglas MD87
McDonnell Douglas MD88
McDonnell Douglas DC10-30
McDonnell Douglas MD11
Shorts 330
Shorts 360
Vickers VC10 1101
Vickers VC10 – Super VC10
Vickers Viscount 702
Vickers Viscount 813
Vickers Viscount 815
I guess it would be no surprise that the A320 series comes in top but the 744 is second.
Always love looking back at my flight log. I’m not a pilot, but still have kept a log for the last 25+ years. My more exotic birds that I’ve flow on include the following:
Concorde – Air France twice
Grumman Mallard – Chalk’s Ocean Airways
Douglas DC-3 – Servivensa and Aeroejecutivos
Ilyushin 62 – Cubana
Ilyushin 86 – China Xinjiang Airlines
Xian yunshuji-7 – Nanjing Airlines
Let L-410 – Aerotaxi
DeHaviland DHC-2 Beaver Floatplane – Kenmore Air / San Francisco Seaplane Tours
Lockheed L-1011 – Delta
Sukhoi Superjet 100 – Interjet
Boeing 727-200 – Champion Air (and others when lots younger)
What was the Superjet like? I assumed it just felt like a 737?
IL 96 sometimes appears on Madrid route and was a regular to Buenos for years. Maybe they will come back again
United is currently flying to Havana from Newark and Houston.
I will book it from Madrid or Paris as soon as they are back. Not sure if Russia will build more of them.
Plus i’ve never been to Cuba 🙂
I was lucky enough to get to fly most types of aircraft; operating from the early 1980s to today. However never flown on any Russian types. A regret, to this day!
My most notable were:-
Flying the DC-3 ; PBA airlines, from Miami to Key West. (Pulling my window-curtains back and enjoying the sunset over Florida)
Flying a half SQ-liveried Concorde from Singapore (Paya Lebar) to London…via Bahrain.
TAP A340, from Macau to Lisbon; via BKK and Brussels (I think)
Cathay’s first ever no-stop 747-200 flight from HKG to LGW.
You are very blessed!
And so the onus is on Ilyushin, Tupolev and Antonov aviation companies to put an effective MRO Program in place so that the last commercial operator of their aircraft stay in business while they search for new customers!
747-100
DC-10
L-1011
Namco YS-11
Nord 262
Bac-1-11
Embrarer Bandeirante
Beech 99
SWM
Cessna 402
Britten-Norman Islander
De Havilland Twin Otter
Shorts 330
Shorts 360
Fokker F27
Fokker F28
Beech 1900
ATR
DHC-7
BAe 146
DC-9-10
DC-9-30
Jetstream J-31
Martin 404
Convair 440
Convair 580