Pantheon Airways | Boeing 747SP | SX-PAC | 1976-1995

The 747SP is synonymous with Pantheon Airways. The shortened Jumbo Jet, with its incredible range capabilities, presented the Greek flag carrier with an incredible opportunity for expansion that management simply couldn't pass up. With 6 747s alread in service, Pantheon placed an order for 8 747SPs in late 1974, with deliveries planned from December 1976 to 1979. The first 747SP entered service on January 10th, 1977, with a special flight from Athens to Thessaloniki. The aircraft soon found its way on the flagship London and Paris routes, before commencing long-haul service in mid-March.

The 747SP brought forth significant change for Pantheon. First and foremost, it replaced the airline's existing 747-100 and 747-200 fleet, as the original Jumbos could only be profitably operated year-round on the airline's flights to New York and Montreal-Toronto, while the 747SP's right-sized capacity allowed more viable long-haul operations. It permitted the growth of ATH-JFK flights to a peak of 3x daily flights, while the former ATH-YUL-YYZ route became two seperate daily flights to Montreal and Toronto, which also later saw expanded service with the L-1011.

The baby Jumbo also became the flagship of the airline's ''Golden Era'' throughout the 1980s. An additional order in 1979 for 5 aircraft, and purchase of used 747SPs brought the total fleet in the mid-1980s to 17 aircraft, the largest-ever global 747SP fleet. These jets launched routes from Athens to Chicago, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco (both via JFK) in the USA, Vancouver in Canada, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Osaka in Asia, while it allowed the airline's flagship routes to Australia to be operated with just one stop in Singapore, and the launch of a new service to Auckland. Although most of these routes were never truly profitable for Pantheon, they helped cement the carrier's reputation as one of the most luxurious and comfortable ways to fly across the globe.

SX-PAC, named after the goddess Athena, was part of the original order for the 747SP and was delivered to Pantheon on January 14th, 1978. It stayed with the airline for 25 years, and in fact operated the final Pantheon 747 flight, Pantheon Airways flight 747 from Heathrow to Athens. This jet has been preserved at the Pantheon Aviation Museum, located at the grounds of Athens International Airport after being painted in the 1976-1995 livery which was worn by the majority of the company's 747s for almost their entire period of service with the airline.