Ilyushin Il-62

The Ilyushin IL-62 (Russian: Илью́шин Ил-62; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jet airliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers and crew, the Il-62 was the world's largest jet airliner when first flown in 1963. One of four pioneering long-range designs (the others being Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, and Vickers VC10), it was the first such type to be operated by the Soviet Union and a number of allied nations. The Il-62 entered Aeroflot civilian service on September 15th, 1967 with an inaugural passenger flight from Moscow to Montreal, and remained the standard long-range airliner for the Soviet Union (and later, Russia) for several decades. It was the first Soviet pressurized aircraft with non-circular cross-section fuselage and ergonomic passenger doors, and the first Soviet jet with six-abreast seating (the turboprop Tu-114 shared this arrangement) and international-standard position lights.

Over thirty nations operated the Il-62 with over eighty examples exported and others having been leased by Soviet-sphere and several Western airlines. The Il-62M variant became the longest-serving model in its airliner class (average age of examples in service as of 2016 is over 32 years). Special VIP (salon) and other conversions were also developed and used as head-of-state transport by some fourteen countries. Expensive to operate compared to new generation airliners, the number in service was greatly reduced after the 2008 recession. The Il-62's successors include the wide-bodied Il-86 and Il-96, both of which were made in smaller numbers and neither of which was widely exported.