Only three airlines worldwide still fly three of aviation's rarest passenger jets: the Boeing 757-300, the Boeing 767-400ER and the Airbus A318. Just 173 of these aircraft were ever built between them, and within a couple of years, none will carry scheduled passengers at all. For aviation fans — or anyone who enjoys ticking off a rare type — now is the time to book.

The 757-300 is the longest single-aisle passenger jet ever made, stretched over seven metres beyond the standard 757-200 and seating up to 295. Boeing built only 55 between 1998 and 2004. Condor retired its last examples in late 2025 and Icelandair left earlier, leaving United (21 jets) and Delta (16) as the sole operators. You'll find them on busy US domestic routes — think Denver and Chicago O'Hare to Orlando or Las Vegas for Delta out of Atlanta and Tampa. They're profitable when full, but slow single-aisle boarding and gate length limits kept other airlines away.

The 767-400ER is even scarcer: 38 built, essentially bespoke for Delta and Continental (now part of United). At over 61 metres long with raked wingtips, it was a stopgap before the 787 arrived. United flies its 16 from Newark and Washington Dulles to places like London Heathrow and Honolulu; Delta uses its 21 on transatlantic routes from New York JFK and Atlanta to Heathrow and Paris. United plans to retire its 767s entirely by 2030.

The A318 is the shrink that never worked. Airbus built 80 between 2001 and 2013, but the baby of the A320 family inherited the heavy wings and landing gear of its larger siblings, wrecking its per-seat economics. After TAROM bowed out, Air France became the last scheduled passenger operator — and just four airframes remain, flying short hops from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Madrid, Venice and Bologna. Full retirement is set for early 2027, so the countdown is well and truly on.

The lesson from all three: extremes rarely sell. Stretch a jet too far and you get tail-strike risks and boarding bottlenecks; shrink one and you're lugging a heavy structure designed for more seats. Airlines overwhelmingly buy the middle variants — the A320, the 787-9 — where weight, range and capacity balance out. Manufacturers have largely stopped building radical shrinks and shrinks altogether, favouring purpose-built designs like the A220.

Why should a traveller care? Because these are the final chances to fly aircraft that will soon be museum pieces. A United 757-300 hop to Orlando, a Delta 767-400ER across the Atlantic, or an Air France A318 to Venice all cost the same as any regular flight — but come with genuine rarity. Once Air France's last four A318s exit in early 2027, and Delta and United follow on the Boeings, that's it. Book the window while it's open.

Simple Flying