When Singapore Airlines offered two of its Airbus A-310/200s for sale in 1997, the Air Force seized the opportunity to replace its Boeing 727s. Each A310 had 12 years of service with a total of 27,000 flight hours. The aircraft’s features met the required specifications, i.e., allowing nonstop transatlantic flights, significant payload capacity, rapid conversion to a cargo version and a potential flight hour sufficient to fly until 2025.
