Originally Posted by
707AF
I made some searches in the old timetable published by the BOAC . I noticed that the COMETs and the VC10s were flown just after, but the 707-436 was never flown to Johannesburg . Could you confirm first , and tell me why thank you
Johannesburg was a direct BOAC transition from Comet 4s to VC-10s at the end of July 1964. As well as Jo'burg, the flights stopped at both Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia and Nairobi, which both I think are even higher. Although elevation was not everything, as they changed over the sea-level flights to Ghana and Nigeria from Comets to VC-10s in the same manner and time.
The BOAC Comet 4s were only some six years old in 1964, and it was doubtless not a long term plan for them to be outmoded so quickly. Some of them never ran commercially for BOAC again after this date, until they were sold to be the start of the Dan-Air fleet a few years later. There wasn't a full BOAC fleet of 707s, as it was known the VC-10 was coming, designed more specifically for these routes, and the initial 707 fleet was fully occupied on Transatlantic and Far East routes. There were still some Britannias around in 1964, similarly not at all fully depreciated, when the Comets started to be withdrawn, as well - their last BOAC route was New York to Bermuda.
Another longstanding BOAC Comet flight was the Australasia route, as both Melbourne and Auckland, New Zealand did not have a runway able to handle a 707. Auckland stayed Comet until the new airport there opened in 1965, while Tullamarine did not replace Essendon at Melbourne until some time later, so BOAC gave it up - apparently even the TAA and Ansett Electras caused runway strength problems at Essendon, such that emergency works had to be done.