2-3 | Sierra Pacific | Boeing 747-200 | 1974-1993

Sierra Pacific would operate the 747-200 for brief stint during the mid to late '70s on a trial basis from Vanguard Airlines. Sierra Pacific would lease 4 units of the type from Vanguard starting in early 1973 for a term of 3 years, with hopes of placing the aircraft on long term lease at a later point. These hopes would be crushed though with the advent of the OPEC oil embargo in late '73, with increasing oil prices making the DC-10 a better widebody choice for the airline. The 747-200 would see limited use following the oil crisis, being used to supplement trans-pacific routes out of Guam and Saipan until their return to Vanguard in 1976. The 747 would also serve with the airline during a brief period in 1979 following the grounding of DC-10.