Airliner Classics - July 2018

Second Hand Bargains
As the 1980s approached, BAC 1-11s offered an affordable
and reliable way for small independent carriers to join the jet
club. One such example was Britt Air, a commuter carrier based
in Terre Haute, Indiana. The company mostly flew charters on
behalf of other airlines, but flew a pair of BAC 1-11s for a couple
of years from 1985 as an independent airline out of Chicago
O’Hare and Atlantic City to Florida.
Washington state-based Cascade Airways acquired three
ex-British Caledonian series -201s and two ex-Bahamasair series

-401s. It used the jets on services out of Spokane to destinations

such as Reno, Nevada and Boise, Idaho as well as its only

international destination – Calgary, Alberta.

Cascade was competing against the bigger and better financed

Horizon Air, and although a merger was sought, the carrier went

bankrupt and had shut down by the end of the 1980s.

Another small commuter airline was Air Illinois, which

acquired two ex-USAir BAC 1-11-203s in July 1982 for services

from Springfield, Illinois. The airline folded in April 1984 after

an accident involving a Hawker Siddeley HS748 which brought

the airline’s safety record into question.

Pacific Express was based in Chico, California and flew nine

BAC 1-11-201s, almost all acquired from British Caledonian,

to around 20 destinations in California, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada,

and Washington state. The airline provided connections for Pan

Am and marketed itself as Pan Am Pacific Express. The airline

lasted for two years and shut down on February 2, 1984.

Florida Express was an enthusiastic operator of second-hand

BAC 1-11s, mostly sourced from British Caledonian, Dan-Air

Former American

Airlines N5031

was operated by

various civilian VIP

owners as N111FL ,

N5LC, N401SK and

N101PC. From 1990

to 1998 it was used

by rock band Bon

Joi, under lease from

Lukenbill Enterprises.

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THE big gest US customer

for BAC 1-11 was American

Airlines

By far the big gest US

customer for BAC

1-11 was American

Airlines, which

ordered 15 and took

options on 15 more

• all of which later
  became f irm orders.
  KEY C

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