Seat 2A

I believe they had a stretched upper deck, similar in dimensions to the -300. So far as I know, KLM and UTA were the only airlines to convert any of their -200s in this fashion.

As a side note, I have a menu from KLM's Royal Class service on the AMS-IAH-MEX route. They provided a fabulous spread of food and drink!

jlemon

Correct! KLM had Boeing convert a number of their B747-200 aircraft to the B747-200SUD configuration at the manufacturer's plant in Everett. They closely resembled the B747-300 (which KLM also operated). I believe that eight to ten KLM B747-200s were converted to the B747-200SUD model.

It is also reported that JAL may have converted some of their B747-200s into B747-200SUD aircraft via their in-house maintenance dept.; however, I have been unable to confirm this.....

BTW, my first trip to Europe was in biz class LAX-AMS on board a KLM Royal Dutch B747-300 back when the carrier was offering three class international service......or was it actually a B747-200SUD??

miniliq

I stand corrected -- everyone moved from HOU to IAH when it opened. I was looking at a 1971 KLM schedule which showed the DC-8 service Montreal to Houston, without using the airport code, and incorrectly assumed it was still to Hobby. To confuse the situation, Hobby did reopen to commercial service in 1971.

I know this is already answered, but here's a couple of photos of the same KLM 747-200 before and after the SUD process, taken from a March 2012 issue of The Airline Reporter.

Seat 2A

Got a PH- number?!

WHBM

Indeed so. The JAL a/c converted were actually short-haul B747-146B that had the extended deck.

There was also one other airline that converted their small fleet (quiz question !).

The conversion was not really financially worthwhile, it was very expensive for quite a small increase in capacity. The control runs on the 747 go back from the upper level flight deck to the tailplane in the roof of the main cabin, so all these had to be redone.

Guess what - due to a certain issue, not all the KLM SUD fleet had PH- registrations.

Seat 2A

As promised, here is the final installment for the fantasy trip report that began in London and now ends in Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1969 one could have flown between Australia and Alaska in just a couple of days' time, but I have selected a somewhat more exotic routing that will take a few days longer. I sure do miss those halcyon days of three and four engined propliners and jetliners so prevalent back in 1969 and evidenced in the schedules referenced herein. Enjoy!


Day One ~ Wednesday

Ansett (AN) 106 Hobart (HBA) to Melbourne (MEB)
Dep. HBA 0800, Arr. MEB 0820 – Nonstop service
Equip: Lockheed Electra

Air New Zealand (TE) 382 Melbourne (MEB) to Christchurch (CHC)
Dep. MEB 1230, Arr. CHC 1645 – Nonstop service
Equip: Lockheed Electra

Day Two ~ Thursday

New Zealand Railways Christchurch to Invercargill
Dep. CHC 0730, Arr. IVC 1930
Train: The South Island Limited

Day Three ~ Friday

New Zealand National Airways (NZ) 581 Invercargill (IVC) to Dunedin (DUD)
Dep. IVC 1205, Arr. DUD 1310 – Nonstop service
Equip: Vickers Viscount

New Zealand National Airways (NZ) 484 Dunedin (DUD) to Auckland (AKL)
Dep. DUD 1400, Arr. AKL 1600 – Direct service via Wellington
Equip: Vickers Viscount

BOAC (BA) 740 Auckland (AKL) to Nandi (NAN)
Dep. AKL 2130, Arr. NAN 0020 – Nonstop service
Equip: Boeing 707

Day Six ~ Monday

UTA (UT) 1584 Nandi (NAN) to Papeete (PPT)
Dep. NAN 1515, Arr. PPT 2120 – Nonstop service
Equip: McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62

Day Eight ~ Wednesday

RAI (VT) 400 Papeete (PPT) to Bora Bora (BOB)
Dep. PPT 0900, Arr. BOB 1000 – Nonstop service
Equip: Douglas DC-4

Day Eleven ~ Saturday

RAI (VT) 435 Bora Bora (BOB) to Papeete (PPT)
Dep. BOB 1045, Arr. PPT 1210 – Direct service via RFP
Equip: Douglas DC-4

Pan American (PA) 810 Papeete (PPT) to Honolulu (HNL)
Dep. PPT 1530, Arr. HNL 2050 – Nonstop service
Equip: Boeing 707

Day Fourteen ~ Tuesday

Northwest (NW) 16 Honolulu (HNL) to Seattle (SEA)
Dep. HNL 0900, Arr. SEA 1714 – Nonstop service
Equip: Boeing 707

Alaska (AS) 1897 Seattle (SEA) to Fairbanks (FAI)
Dep. SEA 1900, Arr. FAI 2130 – Direct service via ANC
Equip: Boeing 727-100

jlemon

Nope! I never have kept track of such things....but if I had, we could then solve this mystery!

I think it may well have been a B747-300....and one thing I do remember: it was definitely a Combi aircraft on the return from AMS to LAX.

Also of note: at one point at cruising altitude, the door to the flight deck remained open for quite awhile. This was a number of years before 9/11. We were in the vicinity of Greenland. I was sitting in the second row of biz class on the upper deck so I got up from my seat for a look. The flight crew was quite relaxed concerning my interest and very friendly. I think this was the only time I've ever been en route in a 747 and was able to look out on the world from the vantage point of the flight deck of the big Boeing.....

jlemon

I stand corrected -- everyone moved from HOU to IAH when it opened. I was looking at a 1971 KLM schedule which showed the DC-8 service Montreal to Houston, without using the airport code, and incorrectly assumed it was still to Hobby. To confuse the situation, Hobby did reopen to commercial service in 1971.

I remember seeing KLM DC-8 aircraft at Hobby back in the day followed by KLM Super DC-8 aircraft (DC-8-63 models, I believe) at Intercontinental before the 747 service was introduced by the airline.....

And thanks for the great photos!

jlemon

Seat 2A: Although there were still a good number of DC-3s operating scheduled passenger services worldwide, in 1969 it was a bit more difficult to book a seat aboard the DC-4. Here in the Society Islands however, the local inter-island airline, RAI (Régie Aérienne Interinsulaire – Inter-Island Aviation Board) provided an excellent opportunity to log a couple of DC-4 flights with its services to Bora Bora, Raiatea and Rangiroa.

Often described as “The most beautiful island in the world”, Bora Bora is only a one hour flight north from Papeete. Your morning departure provides stunning views of the islands of Moorea and Raiatea enroute. Accommodation for your three night stay will be at the fabulous Bora Bora Hotel.

Three days is not nearly enough time to enjoy the relaxed pace and beauty found on Bora Bora. Three years might be more like it! You resolve to return sooner than later.......

Roger that with regard to Bora Bora! My lady and I arrived at this stunningly beautiful island on board a wonderful mode of transportation: a 54 foot catamaran via a "bare boat" charter from Raiatea. We had flown from LFT to LAX via IAH on CO in order to visit my dear old Mom in my hometown of Pasadena. And from there, we flew from LAX to PPT on board an Air Tahiti Nui (TN) A340, checked into the nearby Intercontinental hotel for the night and then resumed our journey the next day from PPT to RFP on board a brand new ATR-72-500 operated by Air Tahiti (VT). We spent several nights in an overwater bungalow perched over a beautiful reef on Raiatea. We then hooked up with our friends and shipmates at the Raiatea harbor: a current AA B777-200 Captain and his girlfriend and a retired AA B737-800 Captain and his wife. The six of us crewed and sailed the catamaran over to Bora Bora and then back to Raiatea. This was an incredible trip that I shall never forget.....and we will hopefully return to French Polynesia one of these fine days!

jlemon

Hmmmm.....KLM, UTA, JAL and.....??

OK, I'll bite as you've got my interest.....what was the "certain issue" and what alternative registrations were used....perhaps they were "N" numbers?

jlemon

13) In fall of 1994, if one wanted to fly in a jet from Miami (MIA) nonstop to Sarasota (SRQ), what airline would you call? And here's a hint: the equipment was a mainline jet type.

The above quiz item remains on the loose and at large.....and bonus item 16) above in post #3383 is still out there as well.

cs57

4) 1970 Air Service--Bermuda/Halifax.
Air Canada, using Vanguard aircraft with F/Y.
Timetable shows this as "VG" as aircraft type

jrl767

Nov/Dec 1980 I flew two of these:
> AF 747-200 Combi (actually rode upstairs on a Y ticket; as I recall, there was a curtain rather than a door between the seating area and the flight deck)
> PA L-1011-500 (I was working as an avionics analysis engineer at Boeing Flight Test ... went up front to chat with the pilots before departure, and mentioned that I had just read an Aviation Week article about the triple-channel autoland on the L15; the captain said something like "If you want to watch while we fly it into Houston, just have a seat here" and pointed to the jumpseat)

WHBM

Ah yes, the Tristar autoland, generally regarded as the most brilliant ever, the maximum crosswind allowed was greater than current manufacturers, and in fact a Lockheed test pilot said they had managed even higher during tests, but just couldn't find such a crosswind during certification trials.

How did Lockheed manage it ? Well, look at when they were doing the development, around 1970. A major pioneer of autoland had been the Hawker Siddeley Trident during the 1960s, design work on which was running down by 1970, and HS displayed a rather off-hand approach to the autoland team. Along came Lockheed, and the key team members upped and left Hatfield for the sunnier climate of Burbank. Lockheed always kept pretty quiet about it, but that's where it came from.

Seat 2A

I'm thinking this has got to be American. Indeed, I remember seeing AA DC-10s scheduled into AUS from DFW. I suspect the other aircraft would have been a 767-200.