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