Originally Posted by
WHBM
Quick supplementary bonus question. Which major European airline started their jet operations with a fleet of One-Elevens leased from Tarom ?
Well, my first thought here was race driver Niki Lauda's airline, Lauda Air. I believe Lauda Air leased several stretched BAC One-Eleven series 500 from Tarom back in the mid 80's.
But then, I thought, can Lauda Air really be thought of as a "major" European air carrier even though it operated Boeing 777 equipment at one point? And, BTW, Mr. Lauda actually flew as the pilot in command of the triple 7 on occasion on scheduled flights for Lauda Air....
The answer is most likely, no: Lauda Air was not a major European airline.
However, Ryanair certainly is these days and back when they were just getting started, I believe they operated BAC One-Eleven series 500 aircraft leased from Tarom.