Post by volkerboehme on Aug 10, 2008 12:04:29 GMT -5
The L1649A
The L1649A is a true California Classic. The launch customer for the L1649A was TWA who gained experience flying them New York non stop Paris from June 1957, but they really wanted them to inaugurate their flagship polar service Los Angeles - San Francisco - (Alaska) - Heathrow from September 1957 with EGLL - KSFO timetabled for just over 21 hours non stop.
Alaska probably means Anchorage by default, but refuelling point filed may well have varied with the forecast wind, and it was possible to omit refuelling in Alaska if winds were favourable.
Remember in 1957 many airlines filed from Western Europe to Goose or Gander, using aircraft like the DC-7 or DC-7B, and omitted those refuelling stops if winds were favourable, continuing to the US east coast airports. The timetables sometimes failed to mention the planned stop in Canada. Now the L1649A allowed the same 'trick' over the pole to California.
Alitalia cancelled the order placed by LAI. Their aircraft also went to TWA bringing their total to 29. VARIG cancelled their order in favour of additional L1049Gs. Air France took ten, then Lufthansa took only four and so December 1958 saw the end of piston propliner production by Lockheed. 43 Starliners entered airline service.
Air France did deploy early deliveries in direct competition with TWA to New York before the end of 1957, again this was partly to gain experience on type, but also because Air France had sole onward rights from New York (non stop) to Mexico City. The L1649A could lift a big payload from the high altitude runway at Mexico City en route for New York. However Air France really wanted the L1649A to inaugurate their flagship polar service Paris - Anchorage - Tokyo from 4/58 and I believe they were used on this service until about 1966.
The DC-7C offered more or less guaranteed non stop Trans Atlantic services before the L1649A and was 20 KTAS (8%) faster between Paris or London and New York. What the L1649A offered was 700 miles of extra range, at the lower mean cruising velocity, which made it more suitable for trans polar services, and created the possibility of KSFO - EGLL non stop on most days and EGLL - KSFO non stop on many days. Trans polar range was the L1649A's unique selling proposition. Every so often when inbound to Heathrow TWA must have diverted to Prestwick for fuel, having misjudged the polar winds.
Lufthansa did not have polar rights in the piston era. The allies had only just allowed its reformation. I suppose their four aircraft worked only non stop and quite briefly between Frankfurt and New York. The extra 700 miles of range allowed that on a regular basis. It might have been touch and go in a DC-7C.
During 1964 one Lufthansa L1649A was operated by Lufthansa's wholly owned inclusive tour subsidiary, Condor Flugdienst, almost certainly still based at Frankfurt, and almost certainly augmenting inclusive tour capacity non stop to Tenerife.
BOAC had introduced the Bristol Britannia London - New York from December 1957, followed in May 1958 by a fast through Britannia service to the Californian coast as part of the BOAC round the world service. Even the earliest versions of the Britannia cruised 36 KTAS (14%) faster than the L1649A. Flying over the pole to California was suddenly no quicker than via New York.
Although not in direct competition with the L1649A Canadian Pacific quickly inaugurated Britannia trans polar services flying Vancouver – Edmonton – Sondre Stromfjord – Amsterdam from June 1958.
Then over the next few years delivery of 707s to the three relevant airlines made the L1649A totally redundant.
It was during 1958 that TWA began to use the L1649A from Chicago non stop to Paris to avoid going head to head with the Britannia, but by 1960 the TWA Starliners were already being turned into freighters. By September 1961 TWA had sold five and half of the remainder were cargo hauling across the Atlantic.
TWA began selling the passenger versions to TransAtlantica in Argentina when they were just 3 years old. I believe TransAtlantica used the L1649A to inaugurate their flagship Buenos Aires - Rio - Recife - Lisbon - Geneva service, but their L1649As were soon dumped in favour of older L1049Hs.
From the late 1960s one or two freighters served with Aerovias Halcon who used them for non stop international cargo charters between Buenos Aires and all the major cities of South America, but not beyond. I assume these were mostly bulk cattle carcass flights, but the US registered TransAmerica also used L1649As for a variety of 'ad hoc' charters in South America in the sixties, possibly centred on Montevideo, or maybe also Buenos Aires. Reported to be entirely legal their cargo operations nevertheless seem to have featured a surprisingly high proportion of tobacco and alcohol. They were unable to cope with the maintenance burden.
A couple of TWA aircraft soon passed to Alaska Airlines for MATS charters, mostly originating at Seattle Tacoma and I suppose mostly via Anchorage or Tokyo or Seoul to Vietnam. By the early sixties others were leased to World Airways, based in Oakland, and for a few years in the early sixties I believe they worked across the various US military and naval bases strung across the Pacific to Vietnam. Other ex TWA aircraft soon went to Air Korea who I believe operated their L1649As on ad hoc charters to the US west coast, probably via Anchorage and maybe no further than Seattle. They also made L1649A logistics flights between Seoul and Da Nang from 1964, or earlier, in support of South Korean forces fighting in Vietnam.
Of the airlines who used the L1649A for MATS contract flights in the 1960s only Alaska Airlines was willing to tolerate the maintenance burden. World dumped the L1649A but retained the L1049H. TWA had none left by the end of 1964 when they were only seven years old. They still owned some, but they were all out on lease working MATS charters, or parked and rotting. By the end of 1964 I believe there were only two L1649As still operating from the United States, both on lease to Alaska Airlines for MATS contract work, and rarely flying south or east of Seattle.
By then the Lufthansa L1649As that had been used briefly by World Airways had passed to Trek Lugdiens in South Africa. Trek existed to bust anti Apartheid sanctions flying through the ever diminishing number of African nations that would tolerate South African aircraft on their territory. The perfect solution to anti apartheid sanctions was the ultra long range L1649A which was now dirt cheap. By mid 1964 a tired L1049H cost 50% more than an L1649A with half the hours.
Trek operated from Jo'burg to either Windhoek or Luanda or Salisbury (now called Harare) and then non stop to Luxembourg. Half of the Trek fleet of four L1649As wore Luxair livery to make sanctions busting easier and I believe the aircraft in Luxair livery sometimes continued to Gatwick or Dusseldorf. At least one was wet leased to South African Airways for a while, also sanctions busting, and I think via Luanda to Lisbon. These South African L1649A operations lasted until about 1970.
After 1964 Paris and Jo’burg were the only places with more than a couple of fully airworthy L1649As. I believe Air France still had nine in service on their two L1649A routes into 1965.
By the end of 1968 I believe only seven L1649As still had public transport certification. Two were still flying MATS charters for Alaska Airlines out of Tacoma, four were still based in Jo’burg, and one surviving Aerovias Halcon bulk meat hauler was still hard at work from Buenos Aires.
A few still lingered with private travel clubs, which existed within the United States to undercut IATA fares. Through their private membership structure they could avoid meeting public transport maintenance and safety criteria. None had the financial muscle needed to ensure adequate maintenance of horribly complex engines and I don't think they actually flew many hours with the remaining L1649As that never became freighters. By the end of 1968 the ones that could not freight were almost worthless.
Air France tolerated theirs for eight or nine years, but then they decided to retain their surviving Breguet Provence freighters and dump the L1649As.
The L1649A’s moment in the sun was very brief. Its fame rests on inauguration of non stop flights from California to Europe (London). No other propliner could ever have made that trip. However the L1649A did not inaugurate regular trans polar services between California and Europe. That had already been achieved by SAS using DC-6Bs flying Copenhagen – Sondre Stromfjord – Winnipeg – Los Angeles in November 1954.
FSAviator
The L1649A is a true California Classic. The launch customer for the L1649A was TWA who gained experience flying them New York non stop Paris from June 1957, but they really wanted them to inaugurate their flagship polar service Los Angeles - San Francisco - (Alaska) - Heathrow from September 1957 with EGLL - KSFO timetabled for just over 21 hours non stop.
Alaska probably means Anchorage by default, but refuelling point filed may well have varied with the forecast wind, and it was possible to omit refuelling in Alaska if winds were favourable.
Remember in 1957 many airlines filed from Western Europe to Goose or Gander, using aircraft like the DC-7 or DC-7B, and omitted those refuelling stops if winds were favourable, continuing to the US east coast airports. The timetables sometimes failed to mention the planned stop in Canada. Now the L1649A allowed the same 'trick' over the pole to California.
Alitalia cancelled the order placed by LAI. Their aircraft also went to TWA bringing their total to 29. VARIG cancelled their order in favour of additional L1049Gs. Air France took ten, then Lufthansa took only four and so December 1958 saw the end of piston propliner production by Lockheed. 43 Starliners entered airline service.
Air France did deploy early deliveries in direct competition with TWA to New York before the end of 1957, again this was partly to gain experience on type, but also because Air France had sole onward rights from New York (non stop) to Mexico City. The L1649A could lift a big payload from the high altitude runway at Mexico City en route for New York. However Air France really wanted the L1649A to inaugurate their flagship polar service Paris - Anchorage - Tokyo from 4/58 and I believe they were used on this service until about 1966.
The DC-7C offered more or less guaranteed non stop Trans Atlantic services before the L1649A and was 20 KTAS (8%) faster between Paris or London and New York. What the L1649A offered was 700 miles of extra range, at the lower mean cruising velocity, which made it more suitable for trans polar services, and created the possibility of KSFO - EGLL non stop on most days and EGLL - KSFO non stop on many days. Trans polar range was the L1649A's unique selling proposition. Every so often when inbound to Heathrow TWA must have diverted to Prestwick for fuel, having misjudged the polar winds.
Lufthansa did not have polar rights in the piston era. The allies had only just allowed its reformation. I suppose their four aircraft worked only non stop and quite briefly between Frankfurt and New York. The extra 700 miles of range allowed that on a regular basis. It might have been touch and go in a DC-7C.
During 1964 one Lufthansa L1649A was operated by Lufthansa's wholly owned inclusive tour subsidiary, Condor Flugdienst, almost certainly still based at Frankfurt, and almost certainly augmenting inclusive tour capacity non stop to Tenerife.
BOAC had introduced the Bristol Britannia London - New York from December 1957, followed in May 1958 by a fast through Britannia service to the Californian coast as part of the BOAC round the world service. Even the earliest versions of the Britannia cruised 36 KTAS (14%) faster than the L1649A. Flying over the pole to California was suddenly no quicker than via New York.
Although not in direct competition with the L1649A Canadian Pacific quickly inaugurated Britannia trans polar services flying Vancouver – Edmonton – Sondre Stromfjord – Amsterdam from June 1958.
Then over the next few years delivery of 707s to the three relevant airlines made the L1649A totally redundant.
It was during 1958 that TWA began to use the L1649A from Chicago non stop to Paris to avoid going head to head with the Britannia, but by 1960 the TWA Starliners were already being turned into freighters. By September 1961 TWA had sold five and half of the remainder were cargo hauling across the Atlantic.
TWA began selling the passenger versions to TransAtlantica in Argentina when they were just 3 years old. I believe TransAtlantica used the L1649A to inaugurate their flagship Buenos Aires - Rio - Recife - Lisbon - Geneva service, but their L1649As were soon dumped in favour of older L1049Hs.
From the late 1960s one or two freighters served with Aerovias Halcon who used them for non stop international cargo charters between Buenos Aires and all the major cities of South America, but not beyond. I assume these were mostly bulk cattle carcass flights, but the US registered TransAmerica also used L1649As for a variety of 'ad hoc' charters in South America in the sixties, possibly centred on Montevideo, or maybe also Buenos Aires. Reported to be entirely legal their cargo operations nevertheless seem to have featured a surprisingly high proportion of tobacco and alcohol. They were unable to cope with the maintenance burden.
A couple of TWA aircraft soon passed to Alaska Airlines for MATS charters, mostly originating at Seattle Tacoma and I suppose mostly via Anchorage or Tokyo or Seoul to Vietnam. By the early sixties others were leased to World Airways, based in Oakland, and for a few years in the early sixties I believe they worked across the various US military and naval bases strung across the Pacific to Vietnam. Other ex TWA aircraft soon went to Air Korea who I believe operated their L1649As on ad hoc charters to the US west coast, probably via Anchorage and maybe no further than Seattle. They also made L1649A logistics flights between Seoul and Da Nang from 1964, or earlier, in support of South Korean forces fighting in Vietnam.
Of the airlines who used the L1649A for MATS contract flights in the 1960s only Alaska Airlines was willing to tolerate the maintenance burden. World dumped the L1649A but retained the L1049H. TWA had none left by the end of 1964 when they were only seven years old. They still owned some, but they were all out on lease working MATS charters, or parked and rotting. By the end of 1964 I believe there were only two L1649As still operating from the United States, both on lease to Alaska Airlines for MATS contract work, and rarely flying south or east of Seattle.
By then the Lufthansa L1649As that had been used briefly by World Airways had passed to Trek Lugdiens in South Africa. Trek existed to bust anti Apartheid sanctions flying through the ever diminishing number of African nations that would tolerate South African aircraft on their territory. The perfect solution to anti apartheid sanctions was the ultra long range L1649A which was now dirt cheap. By mid 1964 a tired L1049H cost 50% more than an L1649A with half the hours.
Trek operated from Jo'burg to either Windhoek or Luanda or Salisbury (now called Harare) and then non stop to Luxembourg. Half of the Trek fleet of four L1649As wore Luxair livery to make sanctions busting easier and I believe the aircraft in Luxair livery sometimes continued to Gatwick or Dusseldorf. At least one was wet leased to South African Airways for a while, also sanctions busting, and I think via Luanda to Lisbon. These South African L1649A operations lasted until about 1970.
After 1964 Paris and Jo’burg were the only places with more than a couple of fully airworthy L1649As. I believe Air France still had nine in service on their two L1649A routes into 1965.
By the end of 1968 I believe only seven L1649As still had public transport certification. Two were still flying MATS charters for Alaska Airlines out of Tacoma, four were still based in Jo’burg, and one surviving Aerovias Halcon bulk meat hauler was still hard at work from Buenos Aires.
A few still lingered with private travel clubs, which existed within the United States to undercut IATA fares. Through their private membership structure they could avoid meeting public transport maintenance and safety criteria. None had the financial muscle needed to ensure adequate maintenance of horribly complex engines and I don't think they actually flew many hours with the remaining L1649As that never became freighters. By the end of 1968 the ones that could not freight were almost worthless.
Air France tolerated theirs for eight or nine years, but then they decided to retain their surviving Breguet Provence freighters and dump the L1649As.
The L1649A’s moment in the sun was very brief. Its fame rests on inauguration of non stop flights from California to Europe (London). No other propliner could ever have made that trip. However the L1649A did not inaugurate regular trans polar services between California and Europe. That had already been achieved by SAS using DC-6Bs flying Copenhagen – Sondre Stromfjord – Winnipeg – Los Angeles in November 1954.
FSAviator