Following the Pacific route acquisition, what routes did UA operate their 747SPs on? Was the cabin configuration updated from the PA layout?

Were Pan Am pilots and FAs integrated into UA after the acquistion?

Jackbr wrote:

Following the Pacific route acquisition, what routes did UA operate their 747SPs on? Was the cabin configuration updated from the PA layout?

Were Pan Am pilots and FAs integrated into UA after the acquistion?

the FA's were deployed all over tMaintenance we found them to be knowledgeable about their airplanes and easy to get along with..

I flew in a UA 747SP SFO-NRT in spring 1988.

Also all the Sales & Marketing and airport offices overseas the staff all became UA employees. I flew on an UA SP in 1987 and at that time the cabin layout wasn't changed- only the last cabin was economy class.

[quote="Jackbr"]Following the Pacific route acquisition, what routes did UA operate their 747SPs on? Was the cabin configuration updated from the PA layout?

Were Pan Am pilots and FAs integrated into UA after the acquistion?[ We had to upgrade the JT/quote]
the 747 SP's flew the SFO-SYD, SFO AKL. SFO HKG right out the Box. It took us a while to get out -122's ready for Long range and many of them had Never seen full wing tanks. We had to Upgrade the JT9D-3a's to JT9D-7ACN's to be matched with the -7A's on the 747-SP's and for a standard to match the 5 747-123's we bought and overhauled. to the UA airplanes. We did all the overhauls in house but the L1011-500's were overhauled in China by HAECO. and then primarily flown in the far east. We also flew 2 DC10-30's leased from CP-AIR, and a DC10-30 that came over from Pan AM.

I know they occasionally flew them coast-to-coast, LAX-IAD.

I always wondered if they put United interiors in the L1011's, but have never seen a picture.

UA flew EWR-NRT with an SP in the 90s, before switching to the 200Bs, which I think it was related to the runway extension at EWR.

I remember seeing one land at MCO back in the early 90s.

I remember seeing one in LHR. I thought it was super cool. Amazing looking, if stubby, bird.

strfyr51 wrote:

Jackbr wrote:

Following the Pacific route acquisition, what routes did UA operate their 747SPs on? Was the cabin configuration updated from the PA layout?

Were Pan Am pilots and FAs integrated into UA after the acquistion?[ We had to upgrade the JT/quote]
the 747 SP's flew the SFO-SYD, SFO AKL. SFO HKG right out the Box. It took us a while to get out -122's ready for Long range and many of them had Never seen full wing tanks. We had to Upgrade the JT9D-3a's to JT9D-7ACN's to be matched with the -7A's on the 747-SP's and for a standard to match the 5 747-123's we bought and overhauled. to the UA airplanes. We did all the overhauls in house but the L1011-500's were overhauled in China by HAECO. and then primarily flown in the far east. We also flew 2 DC10-30's leased from CP-AIR, and a DC10-30 that came over from Pan AM.

fascinating insight... thanks for sharing.

strfyr51 wrote:

Jackbr wrote:

Following the Pacific route acquisition, what routes did UA operate their 747SPs on? Was the cabin configuration updated from the PA layout?

Were Pan Am pilots and FAs integrated into UA after the acquistion?[ We had to upgrade the JT/quote]
the 747 SP's flew the SFO-SYD, SFO AKL. SFO HKG right out the Box. It took us a while to get out -122's ready for Long range and many of them had Never seen full wing tanks. We had to Upgrade the JT9D-3a's to JT9D-7ACN's to be matched with the -7A's on the 747-SP's and for a standard to match the 5 747-123's we bought and overhauled. to the UA airplanes. We did all the overhauls in house but the L1011-500's were overhauled in China by HAECO. and then primarily flown in the far east. We also flew 2 DC10-30's leased from CP-AIR, and a DC10-30 that came over from Pan AM.

That would have been LAX-SYD rather than SFO, same with AKL, though did UA run them LAX-AKL non stop? They certainly come to AKL at times, the 741 flew LAX-HNL-AKL, possibly the 74L did it in the NS low season via HNL?

Caught one from ORD to SFO.

I remember seeing several into and out of LAX during the summer of 1991.

Flew one from JFK to LHR (UA900) on 4th August 1991 !

I failed to get a subload seat HKG-LAX on UA's new n/s 744 service so they put me on the HKG-SEA n/s 74L service - my first and only -SP ride in 1991

JFK-SEA-HKG (UA17/18 and later UA17/22) used a 747SP between the following dates:

4/4/1987-11/30/1990 (ex-QF 742 in W91)
4/8/1991-1/31/1992 (744s for Feb/92)
3/1/1992-5/1/1992 (discontinued)

United also flew SEA-SEL in 1988 for the Seoul Olympics (May 1-October 28) with the 74L.

Jackbr wrote:

Following the Pacific route acquisition, what routes did UA operate their 747SPs on? Was the cabin configuration updated from the PA layout?

Were Pan Am pilots and FAs integrated into UA after the acquistion?

Hi. UA operated PA's configuration of 47 First; 100 Business and 86 Economy for a good three or fours years. After the 747-400s came on-line the 747SPs were reconfigured to 18 First; 62 Business and 164 Economy; at which point the cabins were refurbished with new overhead bins and seats.

Beyond the routes mentioned above, I thought they also flew LAX-HKG and LAX-SYD.

A lot PA people went over the UA, as eta unknown mentioned the overseas ground staff transferred, plus the cabin crew bases in East Asia (NRT & HKG?), plus a lot of pilots and cabin crew from SFO and LAX.

I wish former generations had the foresight to keep examples of all ground breaking transport designs for future generations to see.

Can you imagine if the RMS Olympic had been preserved, considering she was practically identical to her sister RMS Titanic.

I know it just never would have crossed their minds in those days but still.

Imagine a ‘huge’ transport museum with the Olympic, Queen Mary, QE2, a classic 747, 707, DC-10 etc, steam locomotives and carriages, Concorde, various cars obviously, the Space Shuttle, Apollo…….to name but a few.

All in one place.

mustiturnright wrote:

I wish former generations had the foresight to keep examples of all ground breaking transport designs for future generations to see.

Can you imagine if the RMS Olympic had been preserved, considering she was practically identical to her sister RMS Titanic.

I know it just never would have crossed their minds in those days but still.

Imagine a ‘huge’ transport museum with the Olympic, Queen Mary, QE2, a classic 747, 707, DC-10 etc, steam locomotives and carriages, Concorde, various cars obviously, the Space Shuttle, Apollo…….to name but a few.

All in one place.

A great idea, it would be quite a museum

April 1992 I flew on a UA 747SP AKL-LAX and then onward only 1hr 40mins later on a UA 747 100 to LHR
Fastest journey I have ever by nearly 2hrs between NZ and UK.
Return 8 weeks later was a very lightly loaded early morning UA 747 SP LHR to LAX and then quite a long stop over before UA DC10 to HNL.
HNL to AKL 4 days later was again a UA DC 10.
The SP was remarkably spacious in economy.

Wpr8e wrote:

UA flew EWR-NRT with an SP in the 90s, before switching to the 200Bs, which I think it was related to the runway extension at EWR.

those 2 747-222B's flew out of JFK-NRT for the majority of their life at United. we did fly a 747-422 out of EWR after the merger but by then the -222B's had gone off to Northwest,

I am certain I flew on an SP from CCS to MIA around 1978. (PanAm though) I remember my mother noting to my dad that it was packed. Venezuela's good times.