Originally Posted by
willy wombat
Donaldson also did some winter sun charters from GLA to Tunisia etc and also used their 707s as freighters in the winter (I think they had to bulk load through the passenger doors). Does anyone here know how the likes of Donaldson, Lloyd etc financed these 707s? It seems unlikely that they had the cash to buy them outright so did they lease them from Pan Am or a financial intermediary?
Donaldson had two of their 707s converted by Pan Am before lease to 707-321F with a cargo door, so first choice for their freight operations.
Regarding financing, they appear to have been leased from Pan Am, most likely just by the flying hour (although doubtless initially offered for sale at 'no reasonable offer refused'), as when the various downmarket operators went under, Pan Am got them back and had to go through remarketing them again. In asset value (not necessarily Pan Am's book value in their accounts) a turbojet 707 by 1971 was worth little more than scrap, although they did carry on through a range of operators - some into the 1990s. I think Pan Am even painted them up for their lessees as part of getting rid of them.