The Bombardier CRJ100/200 series is a popular line of rear-engined regional jets, with the manufacturer having produced more than 1,000 examples between 1991 and 2006. Today, data from ch-aviation.com shows that 309 of these remain active, and they are spread across some 80 operators. But which are the oldest?

1 5Y-AXG

Sitting at the top of the pile is a CRJ200LR that flies for Kenyan airline African Express Airways. Registered as 5Y-AXG, this aircraft is 30.67 years old, having entered service with German flag carrier Lufthansa's CityLine regional subsidiary back in December 1992. It stayed there for almost exactly 14 years and, after a brief operational hiatus, then went on to join Alma de México in April 2007.

Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons

Its time here was shorter, and by April 2010, it had already moved to Kenya to join JetLink Express. It has been at its current operator since September 2014 and is currently fitted with an all-economy setup with 50 seats in a 2-2 layout.

2 N998CA

Not far behind 5Y-AXG in terms of its age is a US-registered Bombardier CRJ100 with the designation N998CA. This VIP-configured aircraft was delivered to Xerox in January 1993 and clocks in at 30.59 years old.

Photo: Alexander Denisenko/Shutterstock

It served Xerox as N5100X until March 2001 and has since gone on to be operated by the likes of Limited Stores (2001), Boston Enterprises (2001 to 2003), Directional Visions (2003 to 2016), Challenger Management (2016 to 2018), and Bancroft Specialty Logistics (2018 to 2022). It now flies for a company by the name of Tri-State Charter, out of John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (JST).

3 EP-PAB

Dropping below the three-decade mark, third place is occupied by an Iranian-registered CRJ200ER with the designation EP-PAB. This passenger-carrying Pars Air jet is 29.77 years old and, like 5Y-AXG, has 50 economy class seats laid in a four-abreast setup, with two passengers seated on either side of the aisle.

Photo: Adam Loader/Shutterstock

For the most part, this aircraft has been operated in Europe, flying first for Spanish regional carrier Air Nostrum and then for German airline FlairJet. However, it has worn the red and white livery of Iran's Pars Air for more than five years, which operates scheduled passenger flights out of Tehran Mehrabad International (THR).

4 HR-AWW

Sitting in fourth place on this illustrious list, we have 29.4-year-old HW-AWW, which flies for Honduran scheduled regional passenger carrier Aerolíneas Sosa. This CRJ100ER, which was first delivered to US airline Comair back in April 1994, has had a much less eventful career in terms of chopping and changing between airlines.

Photo: Oscar Elvir Vasquez via Wikimedia Commons

Indeed, its move from Comair to Aerolíneas Sosa in June 2011, when its registration altered from N931CA to HR-AWW, is the only time this rear-engined regional twinjet has ever changed hands. According to ch-aviation's data, the 50-seat aircraft racked up 38,394 hours across 34,864 cycles during its time at Comair.

5 XA-MCB

Rounding out the top five, we have a slightly different kind of Bombardier CRJ100/200 series aircraft. Indeed, while the first four examples carry passengers, either in a scheduled or VIP charter capacity, fifth-placed XA-MCB makes a living by transporting cargo. It is 28.58 years old and flies for Mexico's TUM Aerocarga.

The aircraft started life as a CRJ100ER, flying passengers for Air Canada from 1995 to 2006 and Jazz Air from 2006 to 2012. However, after being converted to a CRJ200ER(PF) model, XA-MCB has been a freighter for more than eight years, having joined TUM Aerocarga back on July 17th, 2015.

Source: ch-aviation.com