The file I linked in my post is as mentioned very outdated and only viable for a very general estimate.You need to modify at lest the cost of fuel - that report stated on page 3 $0,7/gal. and those days are clearly over now. However I am somewhat surprised to see that the L1011 seems to be cheaper to operate than a DC-10-40 while both have about the same MTOW
. So maybe I was wrong to say that there is no way to make it work.
After looking over a few figures of the L1011 I agree that it may have some potential. However getting new engines will be very tricky. One of the most important aspect of the L1011 that I've seen is that it's not very noisy on takeoff (stage III) so why bother changing the engines then anyway? According to a table (
http://bit.ly/pnrhGd page 7 - sorry couldn't find a better file) it's even better than A330 and A340 in terms of noise emissions. So you might be on to something.
However I see the priorities a bit different. If companies should use these TriStar they need:
1. enough spare parts available in within hours or a few days max.
2. experienced personnel on the flight deck and on the ground
3. (as you wrote) modern avionics
Good luck!