Editing Court Line (section)

====Widebody era====
In 1973, Court Line took delivery of a pair of [[Lockheed L-1011 TriStar]]s<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/Court-Line/Lockheed-L-1011-385-1-TriStar/0689282/L/ |title=Court Line Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar 1 G-BAAA (photo) |access-date=23 January 2010 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604220129/http://www.airliners.net/photo/Court-Line/Lockheed-L-1011-385-1-TriStar/0689282/L/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/Court-Line/Lockheed-L-1011-385-1-TriStar/1233722/L/ |title=Court Line Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar 1 G-BAAB (photo) |access-date=23 January 2010 |archive-date=24 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124123944/http://www.airliners.net/photo/Court-Line/Lockheed-L-1011-385-1-TriStar/1233722/L/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and became the first [[Europe]]an airline to operate the [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] [[wide-body aircraft|widebody]].<ref name="Bubble"/><ref name="WorldAirlines_1973"/><ref name="L1011_introduction_540"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202319.html |title=''TriStar foot in Europe's door'', Air Transport ..., Flight International, 4 November 1971, p. 719 |access-date=7 August 2009 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019204323/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%202319.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202158.html |title=''Court signs up'', Air Transport, Flight International, 24 August 1972, p. 267 |access-date=10 December 2009 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224092818/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%202158.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="L1011_introduction_539">{{Cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1973/1973%20-%200899.html |title=''Halcyon days for Court'', Air Transport, Flight International, 5 April 1973, p. 539 |access-date=18 January 2010 |archive-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024044322/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1973/1973%20-%200899.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="L1011_introduction_545">{{Cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1973/1973%20-%200909.html |title=''Halcyon days for Court'', Air Transport, Flight International, 5 April 1973, p. 545 |access-date=18 January 2010 |archive-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024044412/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1973/1973%20-%200909.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The aircraft were acquired on long-term [[aircraft lease|lease]] from Airlease International, a consortium of eleven British banks and financial institutions. They were uniquely customised for Court with double-width doors to speed up passenger evacuation and featured integral passenger stairs and baggage conveyors to facilitate operations at smaller airports.<ref name="Aircraft_38"/> The introduction of these brand-new widebodies was a big gamble for a small airline operating in a seasonal market with tight margins as the new jets had four times the One-Eleven's passenger capacity (476 vs 119).

Court took the view with Clarksons that the market would grow and that such large aircraft could be operated profitably. In addition, Clarksons was looking to expand further into cruise holidays and new markets in the [[United States|US]] and the [[Caribbean]].<ref name="end_of_the_line"/><ref name="L1011_introduction_540"/><ref name="L1011_introduction_539"/> This, at the time, was wholly new territory for the UK package tour market.

The acquisition of '''[[Leeward Islands Air Transport]]''' ([[LIAT]]), a regional airline based in the Caribbean, in 1972 was part of Court's long-haul expansion strategy.<ref name="Aircraft_39">''Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... COURT LINE)'', Vol 43, No 7, p. 39, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, July 2010</ref> Court Line provided LIAT with BAC One-Eleven series 500 aircraft for scheduled passenger services in the Caribbean. The BAC One-Eleven was the only jet aircraft type ever operated by LIAT.

The introduction of the TriStar led to an increase in maintenance personnel and the modification of an existing hangar at the airline's Luton base to accommodate the new widebody. It also resulted in the purchase of a former [[Royal Air Force]] [[Blackburn Beverley]] cargo transporter from the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] to airlift [[Rolls-Royce RB211]] replacement engines and/or other essential spares in case the planes developed a serious technical fault at an overseas station that prevented them from returning to Luton (although in fact the Beverley was never civil registered and so was never used).<ref name="L1011_introduction_540"/><ref name="L1011_introduction_539"/><ref name="L1011_introduction_545"/>

The airline's total investment in widebodied equipment amounted to [[United States dollar|US$]]55 million.<ref name="Aircraft_38"/>