DHBC Trident 7A operators

This is a list and image gallery of DHBC Trident 7A operators.

AeroPerú (Peru)
AeroPerú of Peru operated a total of two second-hand Trident 7As between 1982 and 1995.

Liveries
Upon receipt of the two aircraft, they were both repainted into AeroPerú's current livery of the time. Seen here is OB-R-1256, which is preserved at Lima having been returned to this livery.

AeroPerú introduced a new, bolder livery in 1990; both Trident 7As received it, however neither was repainted into the two-colour livery introduced in 1994.

Aerosucre (Colombia)
Aerosucre of Colombia have operated a total of five second-hand Trident 7A(F) freighters since 2008. One was lost in an accident due to pilot error in 2016 and another was retired in 2017; the other three remain in service, making Aerosucre the largest remaining operator of the Trident 7A.

Liveries
Upon receipt in 2008, Aerosucre painted its five Trident 7A freighters into the then-current livery seen here. HK-4544 was destroyed in a crash in 2016, having never been repainted into the 2014 livery.

Aerosucre introduced a new livery in 2014, but the first Trident 7A(F) wasn't repainted into the new scheme until 2015. HK-4545 was retired in 2017 wearing this colour scheme.

The three remaining Trident 7As are still in service as of 2022, and were repainted into the current livery in 2019-2020.

Air BC (British Columbia)
Air BC was the second airline to order the Trident 7A, receiving the second batch of three completed in 1967, eventually operating a total of nine delivered new between 1967 and 1971. The first off the roster was VB-ABE sold to Air Mauritius in 1981, followed by VB-ABB to Air Burundi in 1991; retirements began in 1997, with the last three leaving service in 2000.

Liveries
Trident 7A VB-ABC as delivered in 1967 in Air BC's 1962 livery. This aircraft was the third Trident 7A received by Air BC, and was retired in 1998.

Trident 7A VB-ABH in the livery introduced in 1984, as it appeared when it made the last flight of an Air BC Trident 7A on 19 July 2000, from Meziadin to Prince George.

Air Burundi (Burundi)
Air Burundi of Burundi operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1991 to 2004.

Liveries
Every aircraft operated by Air Burundi had a different livery; the Air BC heritage of the scheme on Trident 7A 9U-BTR is given away by the cheatlines. It remained in this livery until its retirement in 2004.

Air Charter Service (DR Congo)
Air Charter Service of DR Congo operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1993 to 1997.

Liveries
5H-ARS was painted in a simple white-over-bare-metal livery with a cheatline based on the colours of the national flag of DR Congo.

Air Gemini (Angola)
Air Gemini of Angola operate a single second-hand Trident 7A(C) acquired in 1999, one of only five Trident 7A remaining in service. Although a Combi, it is used exclusively as a freighter.

Liveries
Air Gemini's Trident 7A S9-BAH wears this distinctive, bright livery, drawing attention to itself wherever it goes; care is taken by airline staff to keep the aircraft clean.

Air Jamaica (West Indies)
Air Jamaica of the West Indies took delivery of five Trident 7A new from the factory between 1970 and 1971 and operated them until 1997, when all were sold to Kitty Hawk Air Cargo of the United States.

Liveries
Air Jamaica's Trident 7As were delivered in the livery that dated back to the airline's founding in 1968.

1994 saw the introduction of an updated livery even more eye-catching than the first. VB-JME was the first Trident to receive the new colours in 1995; VB-JMA and VB-JMD were the only others to be repainted before all five aircraft were sold.

Air Lanka (Sri Lanka)
Air Lanka of Sri Lanka bought a single Trident 7A in 1985, operating it until 1993 when it was retired due to persistent technical difficulties.

Air Mauritius (Mauritius)
Air Mauritius of Mauritius operated a single second-hand Trident 7A between 1981 and 2004.

Liveries
3B-TDK enjoyed a long career of 23 years with Air Mauritius, but was retired before the introduction of a new livery in 2010.

Air Namibia (Namibia)
Air Namibia of Namibia operated a single Trident 7A inherited from predecessor Namib Air; it was retired in 2003.

Liveries
V5-ANA flew twelve years with Air Namibia. Although a new livery was introduced in 2000, the sole Trident in the fleet was never repainted into the new scheme, and was retired in 2003 still in the old colours.

Air Slovakia (Slovakia)
Air Slovakia of Slovakia operated a single Trident 7A inherited from predecessor Air Terrex; it was retired in 2004.

Air Taxi International (USA)
Air Taxi International of the United States operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1993 to 1999.

Liveries
Air Taxi International's aircraft wore this non-descript livery with no titles.

Air Terrex (Czechoslovakia)
Air Terrex of Czechoslovakia was established with a single Trident 7A bought in 1992. When the airline was restructured in 1995 following Slovakia's independence, it was passed on to the successor airline, Air Slovakia.

Air Zaïre (Zaire)
Air Zaïre of Zaire operated a single Trident 7A leased from Pacific Western Airlines in 1990; it was returned to Pacific Western in 1992 and sold to Northwest Territorial Airways of Canada.

Liveries
Air Zaïre aircraft wore this attractive livery. VB-PVD was taken up on a long-term lease from Pacific Western, and though given full Air Zaïre livery, it was not given a Zairian registration and instead remained on the BC register.

All Nippon Airways (Japan)
The only airline based outside of the Americas to order the Trident 7A new from DHBC, All Nippon Airways of Japan took delivery of eight - two per year - between 1968 and 1971. One was lost in a crash in 1969, killing all 138 aboard; the cause of this crash was never determined. Of the remaining seven, five were sold in 1980 and two in 1981.

Liveries
The first two Trident 7As for ANA were delivered in 1968 in the airline's original livery; this proved short-lived, as a new livery was introduced in 1969, and both JA8301 and JA8302 were repainted into the new colours just fourteen months after delivery.

JA8303 and on were delivered in ANA's "Mohican" livery introduced in 1969, called thus due to the arrangement of the blue stripes resembling a Mohican hairstyle.

Americana de Aviación (Peru)
Americana de Aviación of Peru operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1994 to 1999, when the airline folded. The aircraft was abandoned at Arequipa airport, where it lay derelict until it was scrapped in 2009.

Liveries
As is often the case with smaller, less well-funded airlines, Americana aircraft carried very minimal liveries; this brown scheme was unique to the single Trident operated by this airline.

Astoria Airlines (Canada)
Astoria Airlines of Canada was established with two Trident 7As acquired second-hand in 1995; they were operated until the airline folded in 2005, and the aircraft were scrapped.

Liveries
Astoria was one of many airlines in the 1990s to use an overall white "Eurowhite" style of livery.

AVESCA Colombia (Colombia)
AVESCA of Colombia operated two second-hand Trident 7As between 1992 and 1994. One was acquired in 1992, supplemented by another in 1993, but both were sold off less than a year later.

Liveries
Both Tridents were painted into full AVESCA colours upon receipt, but their careers with the airline proved short - HK-3771X seen here lasted only 44 weeks before being sold.

Avianca Colombia (Colombia)
Avianca of Colombia bought three Trident 7As from All Nippon Airways in 1980; all three were sold to SAM Colombia two years later.

Awyr Cymru Newydd (British Columbia)
Awyr Cymru Newydd of BC entered the jet age with a pair of Trident 7As delivered new from DHBC in 1971 and 1972, and in 1980, the fleet was doubled through the purchase of two from All Nippon Airways. All four were passed on to Kootenay Airways when the two airlines merged in 1983.

Bahamasair (West Indies)
Bahamasair of the West Indies took a Trident 7A on long-term lease from Pacific Western in 1982; it was returned to PWAL in 1987 and sold to SAHSA of Honduras.

Blue Airlines (DR Congo)
Blue Airlines of DR Congo operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1991 to 2001.

Bouraq Indonesia Airlines (Indonesia)
Bouraq Airlines of Indonesia acquired its first Trident, a Trident 7A Combi, in 2001; it was sold a year later after the acquisition of two Trident 7Bs and a Trident 7E.

Canadian Airlines International (Canada)
Canadian Airlines International operated a total of five Trident 7As between 1994 and 2004. Two were bought in 1994 and three in 1995; one was retired in 2002, followed by two in each of 2003 and 2004.

Capitol Air Express (USA)
Capitol Air Express of the USA operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1993 to 2004.

Congo Airlines (DR Congo)
Congo Airlines of DR Congo operated two second-hand Trident 7As between 1996 and 2001. The first was acquired in 1996 when the airline absorbed Shabair, whilst the second was acquired from Congolese Air Charter Service in 1997; both were sold to Hewa Bora Airways in 2001.

COPA Panamá (Panama)
COPA of Panama bought two Trident 7As from Pacific Western in 1992. One was leased out to Interamericana de Aviación of Mexico in 1993; this was returned to COPA in 1995, two months before both Tridents were sold to Astoria Airlines of Canada.

Cruzeiro do Sul (Brazil)
Cruzeiro do Sul was one of two Brazilian airlines to order the Trident 7A new from DHBC, receiving a total of six between 1969 and 1973. Two were sold to AeroPerú in 1982, but the remainder served into the early 1990s. One was sold to Itapemirim in 1990 and two were sold off in 1992, leaving only one to be handed over to VARIG when that airline absorbed Cruzeiro.

De Havilland BC (British Columbia)
De Havilland BC built three prototypes of the Trident A in 1966. One was written off after a landing accident in October 1966 and subsequently used to train ground crew at Abbotsford International Airport, the other two were converted to Combi configuration and sold to the Royal BC Air Force.

Estafeta Carga Aérea (Mexico)
Estafeta Carga Aérea of Mexico purchased a Trident 7A in 2000 and, after converting it to freighter configuration, operated it until 2006.

Euralair (France)
Euralair of France operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1988 to 1996.

First Air (Canada)
First Air of Canada introduced the Trident to its fleet in 1994 in the form of three Trident 7Bs; the fleet was expanded in 2005 with the addition of a Trident 7A. After conversion to Combi configuration and the addition of a gravel kit, it was sold to Transafrik International in 2006.

Harka Air (Nigeria)
Harka Air of Nigeria acquired three Trident 7As from Libyan Arab Airlines in 1991. One was retired in 2002 to serve as a parts source, the remaining two were retired in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Hewa Bora Airways (DR Congo)
Hewa Bora Airways of DR Congo bought two Trident 7As from Congo Airlines in 2001, including C1322/1973, the last 7A built. Both were retired in 2011 and are now derelict at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa.

Interamericana de Aviación (Mexico)
Interamericana de Aviación of Mexico operated one Trident 7A leased from COPA Panamá from 1993 to 1995.

Intercontinental de Aviación (Colombia)
Intercontinental de Aviación of Colombia operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1986 to 1994.

Liveries
HK-3870X, Intercontinental's sole Trident, wore this livery throughout its twelve years with the airline.

Inter-Dominion Air Lines (British Columbia)
Inter-Dominion Air Lines was the launch customer of the DHBC Trident, receiving the first three production Trident 7As to roll off the assembly line in 1967. A total of 25 were delivered from then to the end of 1973. In 1978 five were sold, four to Libyan Arab Airlines and one to Kenya Airways, but the remainder gave IDAL reliable and accident-free service for three decades. Withdrawal began sale of three to Canadian Airlines International and the retirement of a fourth in 1995, followed by one retirement in 1996. Two were retired each year over the next three years; of the remaining eight, four were retired in 2000 and four in 2001. The last flight of a Trident 7A was flown by VB-IDT (c/n C1259/1972) from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Kelowna on 28 August 2001.

Liveries
VB-IDA was the first production Trident 7A and was delivered to Inter-Dominion in 1967; it was retired in 1998.

British Airways introduced its "Negus" scheme in 1974, and Inter-Dominion followed suit with a variant of the livery adding the BC sun on the fin.

Ten years later, IDAL introduced its own localised variation of the "Landor" scheme introduced by parent British Airways that year.

Inter-Dominion became an independent company in 1989, and after majority control was acquired by a group of British Columbian investors, the "Landor" scheme was replaced by a billboard-style livery incorporating the airline's new logo - a derivative of the BOAC Speedbird. The last flight of a Trident 7A was flown by VB-IDT (c/n C1259/1972) from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Kelowna on 28 August 2001 in the billboard livery as seen here.

Itapemirim (Brazil)
Itapemirim of Brazil Trident 7As in 1990 and 1991, operating the pair through the remainder of the decade. Both were sold to Angola, one in 1999 to Air Gemini, with whom it remains in service today, the other to Transafrik International in 2000.

Jetall (Canada)
Jetall of Canada bought a Trident 7A in 1993. It was immediately converted to Combi configuration and fitted with a gravel kit, and was sold on in 1997.

Kabo Air (Nigeria)
Kabo Air of Nigeria acquired two Trident 7As in 1992. One was sold off in 1995, the other remained in service until 2002.

Kalitta Air (USA)
Kalitta Air of the USA inherited Kitty Hawk Air Cargo's fleet, including five Trident 7A(F) freighter conversions, in 2000; all five were sold on to Aerosucre Colombia in 2008.

Kelowna Flightcraft (British Columbia)
Kelowna Flightcraft acquired nine Tridents in 1996, amongst them three Trident 7As bought from Panagra Airways. These were converted to Combi configuration and operated scheduled and charter services in BC and beyond for over a decade. The oldest was retired in 2008, the remaining two in 2011 and 2014.

Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways of Kenya operated a single Trident 7A from 1978 to 1987.

Kitty Hawk Aircargo (USA)
Kitty Hawk Aircargo of the USA bought all five of Air Jamaica's fleet of Trident 7As in 2000, converting them to freighters and operating them until the airline's bankruptcy in 2000; the company was reformed as Kalitta Air, who inherited the fleet.

Kootenay Airways (British Columbia)
Kootenay Airways inherited four Trident 7As from Awyr Cymru Newydd when the latter was absorbed in 1983; they were retired between 2001 and 2003.

Laser Airlines (Venezuela)
Laser Airlines of Venezuela operated a single Trident 7A from 1994 to 2006.

Libyan Arab Airlines (Libya)
Libyan Arab Airlines of Libya bought four Trident 7As from Inter-Dominion in 1978. One was sold off to Namib Air in 1988, the remaining three continued in service until they were sold to Harka Air in 1991.

Markair (Canada)
Canadian charter operator Markair operated a single Trident 7A from 1987 to 1993.

Namib Air (South West Africa)
Namib Air of South West Africa acquired a single Trident 7A in 1988. When the airline was restructured in 1991 following Namibia's independence, it was passed on to the successor airline, Air Namibia.

Northwest Airlines (USA)
Northwest Airlines of the USA inherited thirteen Trident 7As in the 1986 merger with Republic Airlines. One was lost to fire after a ground collision in Detroit, Michigan on 3 December 1990; eight of the forty-four aboard were killed. Two were retired in 1991 and another in 1993, followed by the sale of one in 1994. Next, three were retired in 1997, then two each in 1998 and 1999, whilst the last one soldiered on alone until 2002.

Northwest Territorial Airways (Canada)
Northwest Territorial Airways of Canada operated a single Trident 7A from 1992 to 2000.

Pacific Southwest Airlines (USA)
Pacific Southwest Airlines of California was the second American airline to order the Trident 7A, receiving a total of five from 1968 to 1971. One was sold to TAESA of Mexico in 1989; a few months later, PSA was merged into USAir, who inherited the four remaining Trident 7As.

Liveries
N910PS was the first Trident 7A delivered to PSA, painted in a new variant of the white and red livery devised especially for the Tridents.

The white and red scheme in which the eight Trident 7As were delivered to PSA proved short-lived, as in 1972 an all-new livery was introduced. The bright pink, orange, and red colourway caught the attitude of early 1970s California well, and the distinctive "smile" proved to be PSA's most lasting emblem.

Minor changes were made to the "Smile" livery for 1978, replacing the hot pink with a medium orange colour, and an outline version of the "PSA" wordmark replaced the solid black. This proved to be the last PSA livery, as the airline was merged into USAir in 1989.

Pacific Western Airlines (British Columbia/Canada)
Pacific Western Airlines received twelve Trident 7As from 1968 through 1972. One, VB-PVF, was lost in a crash at Castlegar in 1978 that killed 42 of the 50 passengers and crew aboard; VB-PVA - the first to have been delivered to Pacific Western - was written off in 1980 after landing short of the runway in Calgary. Most of the remainder were sold off between 1985 and 1994; one remained with Pacific Western until 1999.

Panagra Airways (USA)
Panagra Airways began its long association with the Trident in 1969, when it took delivery of the first of eight Trident 7As. Withdrawal began in 1992 with the sale of two to Zuliana de Aviación of Venezuela; the last of the eight in service, N504PG, was retired in 1997.

Liveries
Shown here is N907PG (c/n C1322/1973), the last Trident 7A built; it was delivered to Panagra in 1973, like all other Trident 7As, in Panagra's "El Inter-Americano" livery introduced in 1957.

Panagra startled the airline world with the introduction of its bold, bright "Flying Colors" liveries in 1974. Four different colour schemes were created; two Trident 7As were painted in each of the schemes.

Vibrant colour schemes were taken a step further in 1980, when Panagra introduced the "Ultra" scheme, featuring eight different colourways. The eight Trident 7As were selected to model the eight variants new livery.

Whilst Panagra had been a trendsetter in image presentation and livery innovation in the 1970s, they became a trend follower in the early 1990s, when they introduced their white billboard livery in 1992. Although overall white over bare metal undersides, this scheme did have a nod to the previous ones in that different aircraft types used different colours for the large "Panagra" titles. Only four of the eight Trident 7As received the white billboard scheme; shown here is N504PG, the last of the Panagra 7As.

Republic Airlines (USA)
Republic Airlines of the USA inherited thirteen Trident 7As from Southern Airways in 1979 when it was established as a result of the merger of Southern and North Central Airlines; all thirteen were passed on to Northwest Airlines when it acquired Republic in 1986.

Rossair Executive Air Charter (South Africa)
Rossair Executive Air Charter of South Africa operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1996 to 2002.

Royal Aviation (Canada)
Royal Aviation of Canada bought their first Trident 7A, a Combi conversion, in 1997, then supplemented it with a second in 1999. The Combi was sold in 2001, with the other following in 2004.

Royal BC Air Force (British Columbia)
The Royal BC Air Force acquired the first and second prototype Trident 7As in 1970, converting them to Combi configuration; these were the first Tridents to undergo this conversion. These were supplemented by three delivered between 1971 and 1973, also Combis - the only factory-new Combis ever built. One was retired in 1991, the remaining four in 1992.

Liveries
BC2602 as it appeared after conversion to Combi configuration in 1970; it was repainted in 1976.

BC2601, as the first Trident built, was transferred to the Air Force Association's Historical Flight, which operated it as a support aircraft until 2009. Since then it has been stored at RBCAF Kelowna; there are plans for it to be eventually transferred to the BC Aviation Museum. It is seen here in the livery it received in 1976, which it has worn ever since.

Royal Swazi National Airways (Eswatini)
Royal Swazi National Airways of Eswatini operated a single Trident 7A from 1987 to 1999.

SAETA (Ecuador)
SAETA of Ecuador operated a single second-hand Trident 7A from 1981 to 2000.

SAHSA (Honduras)
SAHSA of Honduras operated three Trident 7As from 1981 to 1991.

SAM Colombia (Colombia)
SAM Colombia operated three second-hand Trident 7As from 1982 to 1993. All three were bought from Avianca Colombia in 1982. One was lost in May 1993 when it crashed into a mountainside, killing all 130 passengers and crew aboard, then in August of the same year another one was destroyed in a fire on the ground during maintenance work. The third was withdrawn a short time later and sold.

SATENA (Colombia)
SATENA of Colombia acquired three Trident 7As in 1994, one from Zuliana de Aviación of Venezuela and two from AVESCA Colombia. One was retired in 1997 and a second in 2001; parts from these two kept the third one operational until 2008.

Shabair (Zaire)
Shabair of Zaire operated a single Trident 7A from 1995 to 1996, when the airline was absorbed by Congo Airlines.

Southern Airways (USA)
Southern Airways of the USA was the first foreign airline to order the Trident, taking delivery of the third batch of three production Trident 7As in 1967; a further eleven were delivered from 1968 to 1973. On 14 November 1970 N116S was destroyed in a crash that killed all 75 aboard; pilot error was determined to be the cause of the crash. Almost exactly two years later, on 10 November 1972 N115S was operating Flight SO49, a scheduled route service from Memphis, Tennessee to Miami, Florida via three stops in Alabama and Florida, when it was hijacked by three men demanding a ransom of $10 million. After flying around eastern part of North America making stops at various airports in the US and Canada, it ultimately landed in Havana, Cuba, where the three hijackers were arrested at gunpoint and the plane was released to return to the US. Aside from these incidents, Southern had an excellent safety record with the Trident 7A, and the remaining thirteen were all passed on to Republic Airlines when Southern merged with North Central Airlines.

Liveries
N110S, seen here as delivered, was the seventh Trident 7A to roll out of the assembly hall and the first to be delivered to Southern Airways in 1967; it was passed on to successor Republic Airlines in 1979.

The Southern fleet was repainted into a new livery introduced in 1976, seen modelled here by Trident 7A N114S.

TAESA (Mexico)
TAESA of Mexico operated a single Trident 7A freighter conversion from 1989 to 1997.

Transafrik International (Angola)
Transafrik International of Angola acquired their first Trident 7A in 1995, which was joined by a second in 2000; one of these was retired in 2003, the other in 2004. After the retirement of the second, a third Trident 7A - a Combi conversion - was bought in 2006, and remains in regular service today operating under contract to TAAG Angola Airlines.

Liveries
The oldest Trident still in regular service is Trident 7A(C) S9-PST, owned by Transafrik International of Angola, bought from First Air of Canada in 2006. First Air had converted it to Combi configuration in 2004 after purchasing it from Royal Aviation; it was originally delivered to Pacific Western. It is the third Trident 7A owned by Transafrik and, as can be seen from the TAAG herald to the left of the forward passenger door, it is operated under contract to TAAG Angola Airlines to serve a diamond mine.

Tri-MG Intra-Asia Airlines (Indonesia)
Tri-MG Intra-Asia Airlines of Indonesia operated a single Trident 7A Combi from 2002 to 2005, when it was written off after suffering damage beyond economic repair in a storm.

USAir (USA)
USAir inherited four Trident 7As when it acquired PSA in 1989; they were sold off between 1991 and 1993.

Liveries
Immediately on acquisition the PSA titles were removed from all aircraft and replaced with USAir titles. The Trident 7As, however, were all sold off before having had a chance to receive full USAir livery.

VARIG (Brazil)
VARIG of Brazil operated seven Trident 7As from 1969 to 1995. Six were delivered new to VARIG and one was inherited via the merger of VARIG with Cruzeiro do Sul. Three were sold off in 1981, 1986, and 1993, and the remaining four were converted to freighters in 1995 and transferred to subsidiary VarigLog.

VarigLog (Brazil)
VarigLog of Brazil, the cargo subsidiary of VARIG, operated for Trident 7A freighters transferred from VARIG in 1995. One was destroyed in a crash in 2002, two were retired in 2005, and the last was withdrawn in 2006.

Zuliana de Aviación (Venezuela)
Zuliana de Aviación of Venezuela operated two Trident 7As acquired second-hand from Panagra Airways in 1992. One was sold in 1994, the other was retired in 1997.