Boeing 707
In May 1952, the first commercial jet took off - but its inauguration had nothing to do with Pan Am. The plane was a Comet, flying for BOAC (British Overseas Aviation Corporation) and manufactured by British company de Havilland.
Trippe, a leader who would do anything to stay ahead, decided to purchase three Comets - one of Pan Am’s first orders of foreign-built aircraft.
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Even a fiercely American corporation like Pan Am recognized that if they were to remain competitive, then they would have to look overseas; they’d have to buy what the British had to offer, namely the Comet 2 and the Comet 3. — Adrian Smith, University of Southampton
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However, he would never receive his order. Between May 1953 and April 1954, the Comet suffered three accidents, all of which involved the death of all people on board. The plane was soon grounded.
(All from Google News Archive)
Despite the apparent failure of the Comet, Trippe still saw the potential of jets. He persuaded the Pratt and Whitney company to build for him some J-75 engines, which were still in the early stages of development. Then Trippe pushed the reluctant Boeing and Douglas companies to design the actual airframe.
He knew jets were coming and wanted to be out ahead of their first successful commercial application. He clearly saw jet engine technology, coupled with pressurization, as a “next level” step in the airline industry.
— John Hill, E-mail interview
Boeing came up with the 707. (Douglas devised the DC-8, which entered service a year after the 707.) Trippe confidently placed an order for 45 aircraft.
His order shocked the airline industry. Nevertheless, BOAC and other airlines rushed to order the 707, realizing Trippe might have found a safe jet.
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[. . .] Trippe “surprised” many other airline executives and employees at the FAA at a dinner party one night, announcing off hand that Pan Am had bought 707s. At that point, the purchase had been something of a secret. — Emily Gibson, E-mail interview
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On October 26, 1958, a Boeing 707 in Pan Am colors lifted off from New York, arriving in Paris just 8.5 hours later. Thanks to Trippe’s steadfastness, the jet age had truly begun.
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This is the most important aviation development since Lindbergh’s flight. In one fell swoop, we have shrunken the earth. |
— Juan Trippe
The jet was a huge success and it reduced operating costs dramatically. (RPKs, an industry benchmark for how much it costs to transport one Revenue Passenger one Kilometer, plunged 5- to 6-fold. This savings enabled the airlines to reduce fares; and it was largely the affordability, along with the speed, that dramatically increased passenger loads as the jet age opened.)
— John Hill, E-mail interview
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