13. By the summer of 1961, Boeing had delivered 215 jets. Of those delivered, 51 went to this airline making it the world’s largest operator of Boeing jets.
Which engenders a few quick bonus questions.
BQ1. Two other airlines apart from American also changed their original 707 fleet over to the JT3D fan engines. Which airlines were those ? The other operators didn't bother.
Answered - PA and QF
BQ2. While extracting data to look at jet numbers in service at the end of year 1961, I found some large fleets already in service. So which airlines had this number of jets in their fleets at 31 December 1961 :
A : 76
B : 51
C : 50
D : 49
E : 42
Everyone else seems to have well under these numbers. By way of a clue, the 51 here is not the same airline as the 51 in the original question above.
BQ3 : Setting aside the USA, at the end of 1961 only one other country appears to have jet aircraft in use by three separate airlines. Which country was that, and what were the airlines ?
Answered - France
Eastern eventually traded in its 15 strong 720 fleet to Boeing in exchange for 15 more fuel efficient 727-225s.
BQ4 : Three of these former Eastern 720s had an extraordinary later life, being effectively "stolen" from under the noses of the authorities to be operated as a fleet by a national carrier, but very much to the dismay of the mainstream aviation regulators of the world. What happened ?
Answered - Air Rhodesia