Ok I have a couple of questions here. First of all, for how long did Pan Am operate the L1011-500? I just recently bought a PA timetable from 1984, and one from 1987. In the 84 one, PA had lots of L1011 flights, including JFK-GIG, JFK-MIA(all flights), JFK-ORD-MSP, and others. And in the 87 schedule, none. Did Pan Am sell all of the tristars to United when UA bought the pacific routes in 1986? Didn't some go to Delta around that year also? In my opinion, replacing some 747 routes with L1011's would have helped Pan Am in the long run. Why did the L10's leave the Pan Am fleet after only a few years of service? And just out of curiosity, did the Tristar's ever visit MSY? I only ask that because MSY is my home airport.

thanks alot for the help,

MSYtristar

I can recall seing ex Pan Am 500's @ Cambridge, UK, so assume some ended up with the RAF as transports/tankers.

I can remember that the L1011 looked particularly smart in the Pan Am colours.

My buddy sitting next to me ( ex-PanAm) confirmed that some went to the British airforce for tankers, I know that UAL got some when they purchased the routes from Pan Am , five I believe and they all went to Delta.

I hear Marshals in Cambridge is where six were converted to Freighters/tankers for the Royal AF

I know the reason the L1011's were used on the JFK MIA runs. Ed Acker just left Air Florida in 1984 to join Pan Am and he wanted to compete heavily with Air Florida's 727's and 737's using widebodies. Six L1011's went to United. As for them ever going to MSY, I don't think they did under a normal schedule. It was manily DC10's used down that way. Now maybe they were used once or twice as a spare but I don't think under normal circumstances.

I'm not sure about MSY but in the summer of 1981 there were a few staging through IAH as they went from MEX to JFK.

Pan Am's first L-1011 service was in the spring of 1980, the inaugural flight being from JFK to Bogota with N504PA. That ship is still flying with Delta as ship 754.

Pan Am discarded the -500s in piecemeal fashion. A few went to the RAF as tankers, a handful were parked in the desert in the mid-80s, only to go on to Delta, and the remaining ones were handed over to UA in 1986 as part of the Asian route deal. These flew with UA for about a year before going to DL as the infamous 'PUD's (Pan Am-United-Delta). The PUDs have all been flown to the desert by now.

Too bad they didn't last longer with PA, but they did not really fit into the fleet and by the time they were delivered, the National merger was a done deal, leaving them with a full deck of all widebody types (At one time, PA flew A300s, A310s, DC-10-10, DC-10-30, 747, 747SP and L1011- 500 at the same time).

Hi!
Here's what happened to PA's L15's (as far as I know):

N501PA (c/n -1176): PA 1980-1986, UA 1986-05.88, DL 1988-today (retired?)
N503PA (c/n -1177): PA 1980-03.85, RAF (all-pax) 1985-today
N504PA (c/n -1181): Pa 1980-09.84, DL 1984-today (retired?)
N505PA (c/n -1184): PA 1980-01.85, DL 1985-today (retired?)
N507PA (c/n -1185); PA 1980-01.85, DL 1985-today (retired?)
N508PA (c/n -1186): PA 1980-11.84, RAF (all-pax) 1985-today
N509PA (c/n -1188): PA 1980-12.84, RAF (all-pax) 1985-today
N510PA (c/n -1194): PA 1980-86, UA 1986-05.88, DL 1988-today (retired?)
N511PA (c/n -1195): PA 1981-1986, UA 1986-05.89, LTU 1989-1994, private 1994- (stored somewhere in TX)
N512PA (c/n -1197): PA 1981-1986, UA 1986-05.89, DL 1989- (retired?)
N513PA (c/n -1206): PA 1981-1986, UA 1986-05.88, DL 1989- (retired?)
N514PA (c/n -1207): PA 1981-1986, UA1986-05.88, DL 1988-today (retired?)

Hope this helps!

In the late 1970's Pan Am bought 12 Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStars for long-range routes. In 1986 under severe cash constraints, the airline sold its entire Pacific division to United Airlines with half of their L-1011's fleet.

Rafal

there is a tristar in storage here in dallas at love field. i am not sure what the reg # is but it could be the one you mentioned.

Delta PUD ships 759-763 have all been sent to the desert. These planes were all retired early because they had the original Pan Am galleys and mid cabin lavatory complex that was unlike DL's (and AC's) own -500's. Ex PA ships 754-56 were all converted to the five aft lavatory, DL galley configuration in 1985 (approx.) and are still in use to this day. There was never any ships 757-58 which leads me to believe a couple of PA planes got away (LTU?). N511PA is now VR-CGF and visited DL's hangar once as LTU and another time as the private -500. VR-CGF was stored for several months (in 1996?) at ATL before moving to DAL. The plane had been worked on at HAECO in HKG and had no interior furnishings, but it had the most beautiful cockpit I have ever seen in a TriStar (new instrument panels, real wood panelling, white leather/sheepskin seats).

LTU only operated one ex-PA -500 (N511PA), the other two examples being custom-built examples:
D-AERL 193J-1196, delivered 10.80, retired in spring 1996
D-AERT 193J-1183, delivered 04.80, retired in spring 1996
D-AERV was the former PA example, which was retired first (in 1994), possibly because of its non-standard configuration in comparison to LTU's own L15.
BTW - D-AERV/ N511PA was the only LTU L15 with composite engine cowlings - do the other ex-PA L15 have this feature?

All of DL's -500 fan case cowlings are aluminum with a honeycomb backing while the nose cowls are all aluminum. These cowlings have been switched around so many times on different aircraft it is hard to tell what is original without checking serial numbers. A Question: Were the Pan Am -500s the only L-1011's built with two cargo holds (and two cargo doors)?

I believe Delta purchased all of Pan Am's L-1011-500s before they folded.