Can't find any trace of a LTN visit. Manchester photos here:-
Convair 880 North West Air News

Only photo I have seen of Luton's second visiting 747

https://i.imgur.com/pcvUzTa.jpg
Gordon Wilson

So who used the lookout?
https://i.imgur.com/gEqASsO.jpg

Third. Luxair one on a Britannia subcharter in the 70s (?) and a BA one in 1992 diversion from Heathrow.

It first diverted to Prestwick but when it got up country the weather went out in Scotland so the crew declared an emergency and came to Luton. I vectored it onto the ILS. It was only when it was on final we discovered it had Prince Andrew on board!

That's me in my car behind waiting to do a runway inspection after its departure. I don't recall it causing any damage.

Sorted the pic! A Dave Gearing photo.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a024403c9c.jpg

Apron Control

I can just imagine what that BA crew were saying about Luton airport before they took off as they taxied out:E

The first 747 departure was rumoured to have damaged some of the lighting with jet blast.
The second one (BA) was stuck at Luton until a tow bar was collected from Heathrow.

https://i.imgur.com/Zb6NLyZ.jpg
Gordon Wilson

it did. We didn't have runway shoulders in those days so many loose stones were blasted towards the elevated runway lights.

Yes, but not for long. It departed the same day.

It was parked nose in. It was only later we worked out the top of the tail penetrated the 1:7 transitional slope (see CAP168 if you are bored :-) ) Subsequently, B747s on the south apron were parked nose out.

10/7/87 was the date for the 1st 747 (LX-KCV) at Luton. IIRC Britannia had tech problems with 2 737's, both going to Faro, and chartered the Caribbean 747 to carry both pax loads. Use "Go to page 32" where there are more 747 photos and other info. Here's another of G-AWNF 28/9/92:-

https://i.imgur.com/GuzjPa8.jpg

With MAEL joining Monarch into the history books we remember the opening of their new hangar.

https://i.imgur.com/dtpJNkC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/X5IQiYd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mWIJ2je.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/abiWFqL.jpg

Out of interest and in simple terms, why has MAEL gone into liquidation ? Part of, but separate from Monarch Airlines owner's company, it had lots of clients needing Mx and so on ? What changed ?

Was there not some Air Atlanta B747s in the 1990s? I think I can remember one on a Manchester United charter t/f Barcelona and one or two whale watching charters to Iceland. Apologies if this has been mentioned before.

A summary of the challenges MAEL faced after the failure of the airline.....

https://www.mro-network.com/maintena...d-monarch-saga

Air Atlanta TF-ABG did a Monarch sub on 4/6/99 which was parked on the south apron. I think the Man Utd flights which operated on 17/5/00 were operated by Corsair. Air Atlanta had around 10 whale watching flights planned May/June/July 2001. These were the only 747's ever scheduled to operate a series through LTN, with other visits all ad-hoc or diversions. 4 flights operated in May, 1 in June then 2 in July, with the remainder getting cancelled. They were parked at a 45 degree angle on stands 47/48:-

https://i.imgur.com/nlTFBX8.jpg

Here's TF-ATF on 15/7/01 being pushed back - very carefully - from stands 47/48 on to the Delta taxiway:-

https://i.imgur.com/TOj0ygf.jpg

Blimey so LTN saw some of the oldest 747's in history grace the tarmac -
The Cargolux owned (not Luxair) Caribbean Airways example 747 was as equally ancient as the 2 Air Atlanta above and the other Cargolux ( Lion Air ) examples,
plus the BA 747-136 shown.

The Virgin G-VLAX was also very old ex QF "City of Darwin" 1974

Did the Orion Air N751PA (the flying pig) ever come into LTN?

No - N751PA was with Orion (US) in 1989, operating mainly for Air Europe from LGW and MAN, then went to Evergreen as N476EV at the end of that year. To spares at Marana in 1992.

One 747 I'd forgotten about was BA G-BDXJ which operated a Britannia sub to (or from?) Las Palmas on 23/12/04, parked south stands. My anorak log has it routing LGW-LTN-LPA but the flight number BY116B suggests it may have been the other way around.

BDXJ was op#g for European then I guess

N751PA was, of course, ex Pan American who managed the occasional visit to Luton in the 70's operating subs for the resident airlines. Only 707 I know of was N766PA on 25/7/71 on a Britannia flight. 727 N323PA on 11/8/73 was probably operating for Court Line, then this one (N356PA) on 24/7/78 was probably doing a Britannia trooping flight, arriving as "Clipper 159F" (which must have raised a few eyebrows when it called Luton Approach). Apologies for the picture quality:-

https://i.imgur.com/IlcFKlO.jpg

Same aircraft was back on 7/9/78, BY918 from Hanover, then N329PA on 12/9/78. It was a summer of horrendous ATC delays (the French - surprise, surprise) and the holidays airlines were bringing in a variety of aircraft to bail things out - Aeroamerica 720, Trans European 707, Balair DC-8, BA Trident, Geminair 707, S.A.T.A Caravelle, Lufthansa 727 were amongst the aircraft used during the peak summer.

Many thanks for all that information. The Man U charter I was thinking about occurred on 26-27 May 1999. I was just arriving at the airport about 8am when a 747 was just coming over the 08 threshold. I believe it was Air Atlanta but I do not think it had any titles.

Yes, it wasn't BA was it? Anorak log has just the reg not the owner. Officially (using G-INFO) it went from European to Air Atlanta on 7/12/04 so it could have been theirs. Now on display at Dunsfold.