Delta Air Lines  Lockheed L-149 Constellation   N88868    (c/n  2067)

                                       

                                            Following the disposal of the C&S L649 Constellations after less than a year, Delta retrospectively
                                            realized that getting rid of them was not the smartest thjing they ever did, since this type of aircraft
                                            were, in fact, ideal for vacation-package "Coach" type operations,a market they were just getting into.
                                            Accordingly the airline purchased four of the earler model L-149 from Pan American.  N88868 had
                                            originally been built as a model L-049 and had been upgraded to L-149 status by a retrospectively
                                            fitting model L-749 outer wing panels incorporating long range tanks.  This machine was the former
                                           "Clipper Golden Fleece".  The Connies were sold in 1960, this one going to a series of leasing concerns
                                           before being broken up in Galveston, Texas in 1974.