Originally Posted by
miniliq
Do any of you remember flying a DC6B equipped with sleeper bunks where today's overhead luggage bins are located? I know there were sleeper variants made, and I remember flying on Ecuatoriana in 1968 from GUY-MIA on what I think was a DC6B that had the bunks although I never saw them "in action." My notes say it was a DC7B but can't be correct because Ecuatoriana never had DC7s in its fleet as far as I know.
Ecuatoriana had four "Big Dougs" by 1968, two DC4, one DC6 and one DC6B (HC-AIO), although they were just making the transition to Electras. The DC6B came from the Miami secondhand pool and had last served with Mackey who ran local Caribbean routes where the bunks were unlikely to be required, so Ecuatoriana presumably installed them. They were common fittings on Transatlantic runs in the 1950s.
The other chance was it was an aircraft leased in, again from the Miami Mafia who dominated the Latin American used aircraft market, as well as maintenance and flight crews for the region. Panagra's DC7Bs, which by all accounts were some of the best-equipped there were, and immaculately maintained, had been recently retired at this time and were standing with the Miami dealers looking for work.