Jet2’s Retired G-GDFD, the Oldest 737-800, Is Now 2-GDFD and Has Flown to Wales

G-GDFD, the 1997 Boeing 737-800 that Jet2 retired in October, has left the UK aircraft register. The UK Civil Aviation Authority’s G-INFO record shows the registration was cancelled on October 31, 2026, with the jet transferred to Guernsey.

Guernsey’s 2-REG register lists the same airframe, serial number 27982, as 2-GDFD from that day. Flightradar24 data shows 2-GDFD flying from Manchester to St Athan in south Wales on November 5, a 33-minute trip that landed at 11:35 UTC.

How G-GDFD Left Jet2

Jet2 confirmed to Airliner World that G-GDFD flew its final commercial flight for the airline on October 18, 2026. Tracking data cited by the magazine shows that flight as LS644 from Ibiza to East Midlands Airport.

The jet was then ferried to Manchester, where Jet2 said it was being de-branded and prepared for return to its lessor. The airline told the magazine it could not confirm what would happen to the aircraft after that.

The CAA record adds dates the airline did not give. A de-registration case was opened on October 13, five days before the last passenger flight, and the mark was cancelled on October 31 with the reason “transferred to another country or authority.”

Guernsey’s register, dated November 1, names NS Holdings Corporation as the registered owner or charterer of 2-GDFD. It gives no detail on who stands behind that company.

Why Guernsey, and Why St Athan

2-REG is Guernsey’s aircraft registry, running since December 2013. Its own site says leasing companies have long used it for aircraft in transition between operators.

That is the practical point of the move. For a lessor, a register like this gives a jet between airlines a legal home while it is stored, ferried or offered to a new operator.

St Athan, once RAF St Athan, is an airfield in the Vale of Glamorgan that passed to civilian control in 2019. It is one of the sites of eCube Solutions, which offers aircraft parking, storage and maintenance as well as part-out and recycling at the end of an airframe’s life.

AeroCorner found no statement from the new owner, a lessor or a St Athan business on who received 2-GDFD or why. The flight itself does not settle whether the jet flies again, goes into storage or is taken apart for parts.

The Second 737-800 Ever Built

The airframe matters because of where it started. According to Airliner World, serial number 27982 was the second Boeing 737-800 prototype and the eighth 737 Next Generation aircraft built at Renton, Washington.

Registered N35030, it first flew on August 15, 1997, about two weeks after the first 737-800 prototype. The magazine reports that all seven earlier NG airframes have been scrapped, which makes this one the oldest surviving member of the family.

After flight testing it went to German leisure airline Hapag-Lloyd in December 1998 as D-AHFB, which the CAA lists as its previous registration. It later flew for Hapagfly and TUIfly before the UK register recorded it as G-GDFD on April 20, 2011.

29 Years and 81,999 Hours

The CAA record logged 81,999 airframe hours as of March 18, 2026, and Jet2 told Airliner World the jet completed more than 30,000 flights. Those hours add up to more than nine years spent in the air.

That is a long working life for a short-haul jet flying several sectors a day, because its wear is counted in pressurization cycles as well as years. Our explainer on how long planes last covers why airlines and lessors retire jets when they do.

Airliner World ties the retirement to Jet2’s Airbus A321neo deliveries, which are steadily replacing older 737s. In a July 24, 2026 release, engine maker GE Aerospace said 29 A321neos were flying with Jet2 and that its LEAP-1A powered A321neo fleet would grow to 146 aircraft, plus nine leased jets.

The type still has a job at Jet2 while its oldest airframes go. In October the airline put a 76-seat all-business-class 737-800 into charter service.