Originally Posted by
rog747
WHBM
AE's first and perhaps not well known orders (perhaps even just MofU's) for wide bodies goes way back to the very early 80's when they had a deal with BA for leasing back and buying aircraft - hence the ref to an order for a RR 747-200B (a -236?)
re the MDD order for a DC-10 30 again in 1980 or thereabouts the DC-10 was still in production
the AE MD11 orders came much later in 1989 for a 93 delivery with RR power
The Air Europe Wikipedia page says exactly the same as your post regarding the RR powered B742 so there must be some truth to it.