British Airways/Aer Lingus 747 - 'Paddy Zulu'

[Mooncrest]

Does anyone know of the circumstances that led to British Airways leasing this 747 ? I presume Aer Lingus only had enough long haul work for two of its three 747s plus its remaining 707s. Did Aer Lingus supply the flight crews as well ?

[rog747]

Not sure at all why BA leased this 747 (EI-ASJ) from 3/76 to 3/81 (with a sublease to BCAL 10/78-2/79 due new DC-10 delays, BA crews flew it)
It returned to Aer Lingus in May 1981, once the brand new BA Boeing 747-236B aircraft had arrived in numbers.

It had been with Air Siam for a year ~
Previously EI flew it (in old EI colours) for EAAC on the LHR & FRA - NBO run 1974-75.
BA flew PZ on dedicated runs - I used to see it often at LHR, and YYZ and ORD were common flights for her.
It is part of the BA legend that when it was returned to Aer Lingus in their latest new livery of white and Green the lads who ferried it left a note/placard on the flight deck which read: PLEASE FLY GREEN SIDE UP.

Funny that 747-148 G-BDPZ was registered sort of in sequence with a new BA 747-136 G-BDPV
747-136 G-BBPU was strangely out of sequence.

Although EI had leased EI-ASJ to BA, in Oct 1976 Alitalia 747-143 I-DEME Arturo Ferrarin was leased to Aer Lingus.
EI also bought Lufthansa 747-130 D-ABYC, as EI-BED in 1979 whilst PZ was still on lease to BA.

Aer Lingus often used the 747 from new in 1971 on charter IT flights to Spain Greece and the Canary Islands plus pilgrims to Lourdes as well (Tarbes)
EI 707's were also used on the Med IT's.

BA also leases a couple of Combis' from MEA 747-2B4M, G-BLVE & VF but some years later in 1985.

[Liffy 1M]

I don't have full details but Aer Lingus was eager to lease out one of its 747s once the 1970s oil crisis hit and the type was really too big for the carrier's needs. Even though a third (ex-LH) machine was added as noted above, the carrier still preferred to lease out one of the fleet where possible. Even then the utilisation rates of the remaining two 747s were not anything like today's levels. The Alitalia lease mentioned was quite short and to cover for maintenance, IIRC. The Aer Lingus leasing operations had their origins in the highly seasonal nature of the carrier's operations and consequent benefit if a number of aircraft could be leased out during the winter period. One of those most involved was Tony Ryan, who went on to be one of the founders of GPA and later, of course, Ryanair.

[ExBa]

Does anyone know of the circumstances that led to British Airways leasing this 747 ? I presume Aer Lingus only had enough long haul work for two of its three 747s plus its remaining 707s. Did Aer Lingus supply the flight crews as well ?
PZ was used on the LHR-ORD service and cabin crew were provided by BA (BOAC) after differences training. Even their roster cards were a nice shade of green to avoid any rostering errors.

[Mooncrest]

Thanks all. Always interesting to have an idea why aeroplanes get swapped and changed around. In common with other Aer Lingus Boeings, Paddy Zulu seems to have had a colourful career. I note that British Airways restricted PZ to east coast Canadian and USA destinations. As an early-production machine, perhaps she didn't have the legs for the likes of Vancouver or Johannesburg.

[Lordflasheart]

...
Paddy Zulu was a real oddball and it is still a bit of mystery as to why it was ever leased. IIRC, the galleys required non-standard trolleys etc, which is probably why BA tried (vainly) to keep it on a single route (ie ORD.)

It had the lower thrust -3A engines with the notorious 'throttle-bar' for 'trouble-free' descents. The -3A engines limited MTOW to around 322 tonnes rather than the 332.9 tonnes of the regular BA -136s with -7A engines. There was also a further (obscure) reduction to MTOW which involved fuel SG and the reserve tanks. Something to do with wing-bending relief perhaps.

The arrival of the RR-236 around 1978, allowed BA to introduce LHR-SFO and LHR-LAX (direct 747) services, but there were frequent substitutions, as the -136s could usually make the West Coast with a passable load. I would be surprised if PZ was ever asked to go that far, or even to Africa. Later on, around 1980, PZ featured on the LHR-Dhahran service.

Fly GSU - 1981. We're taxying (GSU) round the outer at JFK for a night departure in PZ, when GND calls us ... "Speedbird - Your sequence is to follow the Irish 747" ... Big puzzled thinks bubble - 'But we ARE the Irish 747.' Fortunately for us the pause was long enough to spot the real Aer Lingus coming out of some cul-de-sac.

LFH
...

[Liffy 1M]

Because Aer Lingus's route network was so limited and involved a short Atlantic crossing from Shannon to the East Coast, the airline could order aircraft with lower specifications and still meet its needs. After all, it ordered the original Boeing 720 (pre-turbofans) which was marginal for the same routes and had to stop at Gander if the winds were unfavourable. There were replaced with 707-348Cs after a few years, once the airline had established its transatlantic operations.

[ETOPS]

Aer Lingus often used the 747 from new in 1971 on charter IT flights to Spain

Leading to the funniest airport announcement I've every heard. I was waiting at DUB on a Friday evening as the increasingly desperate boarding calls for the 747 flight to PMI were being made. After several "last and final" calls a different voice came on the PA with "will the remaining 236 passengers go immediately........" :eek:

[bean]

Hilarious!!

[gas path]

'Paddy Zulu' was a cunning plan to get an ancient airframe modified whilst on lease! IIRC one of the mods was to the MED's that ensured the girt bar was disconnected when opening the door from the outside if it had been left in auto! The trailing edge flaps were re-rigged to improve crz performance. Changes made to the 'boat fairing' mechanisms to do away with the fixed tracks. I think BA also installed the -7 engines and with that went the throttle bar. Another mod was to fit floor seat tracks in a lot of the cabin the previous occupants of the space having turned into aluminium oxide!
Mind you it was a looong time ago!

[Liffy 1M]

'Paddy Zulu' was a cunning plan to get an ancient airframe modified whilst on lease! IIRC one of the mods was to the MED's that ensured the girt bar was disconnected when opening the door from the outside if it had been left in auto! The trailing edge flaps were re-rigged to improve crz performance. Changes made to the 'boat fairing' mechanisms to do away with the fixed tracks. I think BA also installed the -7 engines and with that went the throttle bar. Another mod was to fit floor seat tracks in a lot of the cabin the previous occupants of the space having turned into aluminium oxide!
Mind you it was a looong time ago!

The aircraft was delivered in 1971 and leased to BA from 1976-1981 so the "ancient airframe" description does not quite fit.

[gas path]

The aircraft was delivered in 1971 and leased to BA from 1976-1981 so the "ancient airframe" description does not quite fit.
Maybe so but it was it was still 'ancient' compared to BA's -136 frames in mod state! I know I was involved in a lot it! When BA got it it still had the PTU installed. I doubt many will remember that little bit of kit! Its biggest drawback as already pointed out was the dedicated galleys. So if it went tech. There was a real scrabble to get it back in the flying programme!
Anyway I've seen the 744 out and I was convinced it would be the other way round. A sheer delight to work on and so simple. Favourite job was probably aileron and spoiler rigging... oh and rigging and trimming the P&W engines. Fantastic engine practically 'bomb' proof!

[Mooncrest]

I'm forming the impression that British Airways carried out hangar maintenance on Paddy both when she was with Aer Lingus and British Airways. Is this so ? It might explain why BA took her on in the first place, an airframe the maintenance team were already familiar with rather than a complete unknown.

[bean]

Gaspath. P & W engines on BA 744s?. I don't think so

[gas path]

Gaspath. P & W engines on BA 744s?. I don't think so
HAHA my bad.. poor grammar I'm afraid. Just saying I've seen the 744 out...when I thought it would be the other way round!
As for the 747 I've worked and have cover on them all. from -100,-200, -300,-400 and SP with Pratts, GE and RR all flavours. Its been a fantastic aircraft, simple and easy.

[bean]

It's alright. Only teasing

[Non-Driver]

Paddy had gone by the time I arrived at BA in '85 but I suspect it had a "standard" galley config and it was all the new to BA fleet that had "non-standard" galleys (from a global perspective rather than BA's). IIRC we tended to have bespoke insert & cart designs to mitigate thieving from unscrupulous airlines and handlers (and of course BA always knew best when it came to design/specification.....). I can't recall what we called them but they were definitely different to other standards eg ATLAS, KSSU. As an aside, when we took on the ex-Dan Air 737 fleet that was one of the biggest headaches - Dans had gone for the cheapest leases, irrespective of fleet commonality. When anything from that fleet went tech it was a nightmare swapping catering loads.

The suspicion of "free mods" has a ring of truth. Most leases had a non-prejudice clause in them so if you were doing a mod to your own fleet you had to do it to the lessors too (at your cost, not theirs). Because BA did very little leasing in back then, they weren't too savvy about lease contracts. Up against someone like Ryan they'd have been completely hoodwinked.

[WHBM]

If I'm not mistaken BA (BOAC even at first) also did some checks on the rest of the Aer Lingus 747 fleet as well, before Dublin had the full capability.

Aer Lingus Transatlantic traffic was notably peaky and they really had too many aircraft; for about 8 months of the year one 747 would really have sufficed, but they kept several of their 707s on as well, and got into the leasing market in quite a big way. Paddy Zulu was a longer term arrangement, however, with the aircraft being put on the UK register.

BA were notably short of 747s, and intercontinental widebodies, in the late 1970s; their Tristars didn't have the range, and they were waiting for the RR-powered 747-200s. The daily lease of the Air New Zealand DC-10 (later two a day) at the same time was part of this, only resolved when the Roller 747s came in, and even those dribbled in just one or two per order.

BA actually did a lot of other leasing in the late 1970s, though principally on the short-haul fleet where there were periodic shortages of Tridents while they went through yet another fleet fix. 737s from various operators were the common substitute.

I believe after passing through African etc hands, Paddy Zulu may still be somewhat extant at Roswell NM USA, the hulk noted there in 2014 having already been there for a dozen years.

[condor17]

Well we did get our own back when Aer Lingus was waiting for their A330s . Caledonian G-BBAF Tristar -100 was painted up in 't green , and we did 2 or 3 summers seasons stumbling over our callsign when answering ATC .... '' Speed...Cale...Aer L...Shamrock 106 or 107 '' if memory serves .
'97-'99 perhaps .

rgds condor .

[pax britanica]

On the subject of non standard BA747s I seem to remember they had one that had odd colours in the late 1970s -being all white witha blue cheat line rather than the normal blue lower fuselage.

I lived in Ashford at the time (the Middlesex one) and it often used to head off via Dover departure and have a vague memeory that soemone told me they only operated to Saudi.

Anyone able to fill in more detail, it seemed to me (and as I grew up right next to LHR I was pretty sensitive to aircraft sounds ) to make a slightly different noise but as BA 136s had PW engines too thats probably wrong)

PB

[treadigraph]

Must have been PZ...?

http://www.british-caledonian.com/images/BDPZ%20Aug%2076.jpg

[SpringHeeledJack]

Ah, nostalgia!

I saw this beast many times back in the day whilst spotting at LHR, but can't say I ever noticed the 'bump' just after the main hump joins the fuselage. What was inside ? These days such protrusions are commonplace, but back then they were somewhat rare.

Aslo, thread-drifting, that TMA 747 reminded me that I'd forgotten that they had the type at all, MEA yes, but I only remember seeing TMA 707's. Perhaps I'd discovered girls and had taken my eye off the ball ;-)

[pax britanica]

T'graph.

Yes thats the colour scheme I recall for sure. .Why i remember the engine noise as different I am not sure but as I said living in Stanwell for may years as kid you could tell pretty much what was coming next off of 27/28L just from the sound. .

Some time in the late 70s while walking from Ashford station to my home a very noisy and different sounding 747 .caught my attention. It was TWA 100 series and was really climbing out aggressively on a westerly departures from 09/10R when a big sheet of flame shot from one of the engines on my side together with a heavy whoompf sound. Really frightened me as I thought it must be really serious although the 74 immediately leveled out and carried on to the west with no apparent problem. I did worry me though and as I was literally passing a call box phoned LHR and got put through to ATC who politely explained what it was I had seen and said all was Ok and the crew were deciding what to do in terms of carry on or return but thanked me for calling anyway. Was the second time isaw falmes on an airliner the first was the BOAC 707 which lost an engine (literally )out of LHR) and I had a really clear view of its emergence return onto 05 . Unfortunatley my firnd and I also saw the huge column of black smoke behind a row of houses and knew that something very serious had happened . Itwas probably that experience that worried me about the TWA flight.. More traumatic was my sister's experience of being in Staines High Street when Papa India crashed. I asked if she saw anything and her resply was no but we felt it. A very sad day where i lived our immediate neighbours were Staines police officer , Ashford hospital nursing sister and BA fireman . and BEA Maintenance engineer who all ended up at the site. My dad was BEA Maintrol and knew both Capt Key and the supernumerary captain quite well. A very sad day

[DaveReidUK]

I saw this beast many times back in the day whilst spotting at LHR, but can't say I ever noticed the 'bump' just after the main hump joins the fuselage. What was inside ? These days such protrusions are commonplace, but back then they were somewhat rare.

Photos of several early -100s and -200s with that bump can be found on the Net. The consensus seems to be either Satcom or GPS.

Interestingly, Paddy Zulu and its sister ship lost the bumps a few years after the BA lease.

[WHBM]

Also, thread-drifting, that TMA 747 reminded me that I'd forgotten that they had the type at all, MEA yes, but I only remember seeing TMA 707's.
They got a couple of onetime American early 747s for a year or so. Painted green all over.

[TCU]

Ah, nostalgia!Aslo, thread-drifting, that TMA 747 reminded me that I'd forgotten that they had the type at all, MEA yes, but I only remember seeing TMA 707's. Perhaps I'd discovered girls and had taken my eye off the ball ;-)

That picture stirs memories of salmon paste sandwiches, a flask of tea, Golden Wonder crisps and a Penguin biscuit in my pack lunch, high up on the Queens Building terrace....kids of today don't know what they've missed.

On a serious note (albeit slightly left of thread), there must have been considerable trade links between UK and Lebanon at that time, as LHR would receive a steady flown of MEA and TMA aircraft on any particular day in the late 70's, early 80's. MEA and TMA 747's were pretty regular.

[SpringHeeledJack]

Thanks for the replies chaps. I probably saw the external protuberance , but just didn't register it/remember it.

Why did TMA get rid of their 747's after such a short time ?\

That picture stirs memories of salmon paste sandwiches, a flask of tea, Golden Wonder crisps and a Penguin biscuit in my pack lunch, high up on the Queens Building terrace....kids of today don't know what they've missed.


That sounds ALL too familiar!

[rog747]

TMA pranged a 747 in an over run at ATH in 1975, they had only just got it from AA - It was repaired and sold to PAA.

They only had 2 747's.
For two short years from May of 1975 until June of 1977, Trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA) of Lebanon operated two or the most colourful Boeing 747s flying. The aircraft, both 747-123SFs originally delivered to American Airlines, initially retained their U.S. registrations (N9675 and N9676), before being re-registered as OD-AGM and OD-AGC respectively.

[Bergerie1]

Definitely Satcom, the bump was large enough to house a steerable dish aerial

[pax britanica]

TCU and Springheel,, the packed lunch sounds familiar. Coming from south of LHR the Central Area was just too far so for me it was the Cains Lane A30 spot in Bedfont, the next road down to the now well known Myrtle avenue i think. , They were good days for variety and 'surprises' with no ADSB to tell you whats 20 mins out.. A good spot for me too was between the rivers in Stanwell -where I lived- before the Cargo terminal and the mini fuel farm took all the views away -nice in summer , winter with the whole open space of LHR to the North east a little bit more challenging