| Tupolev Tu-104 | |
|---|---|
 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104A at Arlanda Airport in 1972 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Narrow-body jetliner |
| Manufacturer | Tupolev OKB, Kharkiv Aviation Factory, Kazan Aircraft Production Association, Omsk Aviation Plant 166 |
| Designer | |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users | Aeroflot |
| Number built | 201 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1956–1960 |
| Introduction date | 15 September 1956 (Aeroflot) |
| First flight | 17 June 1955 |
| Retired | 1981 |
| Developed from | Tupolev Tu-16 |
| Variants | Tupolev Tu-110 Tupolev Tu-124 Tupolev Tu-107 |
The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a medium-range, narrow-body, twin turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet and was the only jetliner operating in the world from 1956 to 1958, when the British jetliner was grounded due to safety concerns.[1]
In 1957, Czechoslovak Airlines – ČSA (now Czech Airlines), became the first airline in the world to fly a route exclusively with jet airliners, using the Tu-104A variant between Prague and Moscow. In civilian service, the Tu-104 carried over 90 million passengers with Aeroflot (then the world's largest airline), and a lesser number with ČSA, while it also was operated by the Soviet Air Force. Its successors included the Tu-124, Tu-134, and Tu-154.
- ^ Antonio López Ortega (1999). Reactores Comerciales (1999a) [Commercial Jetliners] (in Spanish). Agualarga Editores S.l. ISBN 84-95088-87-8. Retrieved 2008-09-26.