main deck – it was quite
a challenge!” Later some
models had their galleys
located on the main deck
to increase cargo capacity.
The TriStar was liked
by freight companies and
according to the airline’s
cargo division put BA
“back on the map” in
this sector within Europe
thanks to the type’s greater
capacity and use of
containerised pallets (also
used on the 747s) which
eased short- to long-haul
transfers. BA’s engineering
department equally
appreciated the TriStar’s modern construction
and systems.LONGER RANGE
While the -1 version coped with routes
beyond Europe, the more powerful long-
range -500, featuring Cat IIIb zero-decision
height autoland capability, was a better fit,
and ideal for developing traffic in secondary
markets. British Airways placed the launch
order for six of the shorter, extended-range
L1011-500s in August 1976, converting earlier
options. This new version could fly 6,030
miles (9,704km) compared with the -1’s 2,739
miles (4,408km). The -500 was well suited to
longer, thinner routes – replacing the smaller
VC10s and 707s that burned the same
amount of fuel – that could not support the
larger 747s. The first two -500s for BA were
used in the certification programme for the
new variant and the third example, G-BFCC,
became the first to be delivered to the airline
on April 29, 1979, entering service a week
later on the Abu Dhabi route.
In January 1979 the airline ordered
two L1011-200s, followed by another six in
September, bringing its total TriStar order to- The -200 combined the basic -1 airframe
with the higher-powered RB.211-524B
engines used on the -500, producing an
airliner capable of economically serving both
the US eastern seaboard and Gulf routes as
well as high-density European destinations.
It had a range of 4,362 miles (7,020km).
As with the -500s, BA was the first
European carrier to take delivery of the -200- flight crews were rated for all three variants.
Initially serving mainly Middle East routes, the
-200s released the -500s for longer sectors.
The enlarged fleet lasted only four years:
although reliable, the -500s with their smaller
capacity were, compared with the other
variants, costlier to operate.
In the early 1980s British Airways,
earmarked for privatisation and struggling
financially in a recession, needed to improve
its balance sheet and made the surprise
announcement to sell its six -500s to the RAF.
The aircraft left the airline between February
and May 1983, although two were leased
back to British Airtours and one to BA for
short periods. These aircraft made frequent
return visits to Heathrow for BA to provide
engineering and operational support.
By 1985 short-haul routes had settled
on Athens, Larnaca, Malta, Nice and Paris,
but the aircraft continued to accumulate new
long-haul ones, including Bahrain, Beirut,
Calgary, Colombo, Damascus, Dar es
Salaam, Edmonton, Khartoum, Kilimanjaro,
Kingston, Montreal, New Orleans, New York
JFK, Philadelphia, Riyadh, Seattle, Toronto
(from Manchester) and Vancouver.
Three of the -1s were converted to
-50s in 1985 – among the changes, the
undercarriage was strengthened, increasing
their maximum take-off weight and range.
The -1 could fly 2,739
miles (4,408km) whereas
the -50 could reach 4,178
miles (6,724km).
The TriStar found a
ready home on thinner,
often multi-stop and/or
lower frequency routes
that couldn’t support 747s.
For example, Washington
Dulles started to receive
the L1011 in 1986 as
there weren’t enough
passengers to support
the larger aircraft in
winter. By this stage, BA’s
TriStar 500s had left the
fleet, but a route swap
with British Caledonian brought a return to
South America, leaving the airline short of the
smaller long-haul aircraft it needed for these
destinations. It leased two -500s from Air
Lanka for three years, primarily to serve Rio
de Janeiro and São Paulo.
By the end of the 1980s the TriStar had
served on the majority of BA’s long-haul
network. Across the North Atlantic the type
now flew to Baltimore, Boston, Detroit,
Newark and Pittsburgh, as well as Gatwick-
New York JFK and the leisure destinations
of Orlando and Tampa. In Africa and the
Indian Ocean – Abidjan, Accra, Banjul,
Freetown, Lagos, Lilongwe (Malawi), Luanda,
Luxor, Mauritius, Monrovia and Nairobi were
served, while on routes further east it flew to
Islamabad, Madras (Chennai) and Muscat.
The versatile and dependable TriStar
was popular throughout the airline and with
passengers, but its withdrawal from service
came quickly in the wake of the Gulf War in- The aircraft had given superb service
both in high-density short-haul markets and
on long-haul routes. However, as more fuel-
efficient Boeing 757s and 767s joined the
fleet and with a downturn in demand on some
long-haul markets, the TriStar became a
casualty of its relatively high operating costs.
While some of the BA fleet spent time in
desert storage before finding new operators,
several of the earlier -1s and a -50 gained
a new life with British Airtours’ successor,
Caledonian Airways, throughout much of
the 1990s.
34 Aviation News incorporating Jets June 2018A TriStar 500 in the Landor-designed
scheme adopted by British Airways
in 1984. Richard VandervordHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth II waves goodbye
as she boards TriStar 200 G-BHBR Bude Bay
at the start of a royal visit. BA Heritage Centre30-34_jetliners_tristarsDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 34 02/05/2018 15:52