Aviation News – June 2018

British Airways invested heavily in new and

specialised ground handling equipment and

terminal infrastructure at Heathrow, as well

as at 18 outstations, including baggage and

cargo loading apparatus, heavyweight aircraft

towing tractors, vehicles

and cargo transporters,

with the aim of matching

the 45min turnarounds

of the Tridents. In

preparation for

accepting the TriStar, the

corporation purchased

a flight simulator, and its

engineers constructed

a full-scale mock-up for

cabin crew training. At

Heathrow the airline worked with the British

Airports Authority to create four dedicated

departure gates on Pier 3 at Terminal 1. Each

had four times the capacity of existing gates

and was equipped with two air jetties to

speed up boarding and

disembarkation, ready

in time for the 1975

summer season.

The first TriStar

for British Airways,

G-BBAE, performed

its maiden flight on

September 3, 1974

and was delivered to

the airline’s Heathrow

base on October 21,

resplendent in the new

corporation’s Negus &

Negus-designed livery.

It flew the next day to

Berlin to represent the

airline at the official

opening of Tegel airport.

The second and third examples, delivered

within a few weeks, were pressed into

crew training duties and by the start of the

summer season in April 1975 six were in

service. During its work-up trials the airline

arranged for cabin crew to fly on non-

passenger route-proving flights to familiarise

themselves with procedures on the new

addition to the fleet.

British Airways had stationed engineers at

Lockheed’s Palmdale,

California factory to

study the experience

of earlier operators.

It also worked with

the manufacturer to

customise the jets to

the airline’s specific

requirements for

configuration, layout

and systems, agreeing

modifications based

on their findings. British Airways’ airframe

engineers undertook training at Lockheed

before joining TWA at Los Angeles for in-

service experience at first-hand.

IN SERVICE

The aircraft were

configured by BA’s

European services

with 20 passengers

in first class and 300

in the ‘tourist’ section.

The maiden revenue

British Airways TriStar

flight took place on

Sunday, January 12,

1975, carrying 104

passengers from

Heathrow to Malaga,

followed the next

day by Brussels and

Madrid. During that

year it joined the

schedules to Alicante,

32 Aviation News incorporating Jets June 2018

Above: Eight TriStar 200s were operated by

British Airways. Bob O’Brien

Below: Heathrow was the base for BA’s Tristar

fleet. This was the scene at the airport on June

1, 1981. AirTeamImages.com/Keith Blincow (ATI)

Above left: A publicity photo showing tourist class on a BA TriStar used to highlight what the airline called the ‘high, wide and handsome’ cabin.

The carrier went to great lengths to promote the new TriStar, including posters, brochures, models in executive lounges and sales offices and

there was even a film showcasing the aircraft. BA Heritage Centre

Above right: An advert in the British Airways 1974/75 winter timetable describing the “spacious, quiet, relaxing” TriStar. BA Heritage Centre

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