De Havilland Comet - Operators

Operators

The original operators of the early Comet 1 and the Comet 1A were BOAC, Union Aéromaritime de Transport, and Air France. All early Comets were withdrawn from service for accident inquiries, during which orders from British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines, Japan Air Lines, Linea Aeropostal Venezolana, National Airlines, Pan American World Airways, and Panair do Brasil were cancelled. When the redesigned Comet 4 entered service, it was flown by customers BOAC, Aerolíneas Argentinas, and East African Airways, while the Comet 4B variant was operated by customers BEA and Olympic Airways, and the Comet 4C model was flown by customers East African Airways, Kuwait Airways, Mexicana, Middle East Airlines, Misrair Airlines, and Sudan Airways.

Other operators used the Comet either through leasing arrangements or through second-hand acquisitions. BOAC's Comet 4s were leased out to Air Ceylon, Air India, AREA Ecuador, Central African Airways, and Qantas Empire Airways; after 1965 they were sold to AREA Ecuador, Dan-Air, Mexicana, Malaysian Airways, and the Ministry of Defence. BEA's Comet 4Bs were chartered by Cyprus Airways, Malta Airways, and Transportes Aereos Portgueses. Channel Airways obtained five Comet 4Bs from BEA in 1970 for inclusive tour charters. Dan-Air bought all of the surviving flyable Comet 4s from the late 1960s into the 1970s; some were for spares reclamation but most were operated on the carrier's inclusive tour charters; a total of 48 Comets of all marks were acquired by the airline.

In military service, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force was the largest operator, with the 51 Squadron (1958–1975; Comet C2, 2R), 192 Squadron (1957–1958; Comet C2, 2R), 216 Squadron (1956–1975; Comet C2 and C4), and the Royal Aircraft Establishment using the aircraft. The Royal Canadian Air Force also operated Comet 1As (later retrofitted to 1XB) through its 412 Squadron from 1953 to 1963.