Boeing 727

Yet another situation where the 727 has proven to be popular is in situations where the airline services airports with gravel, or otherwise lightly improved runways.

The Canadian airline First Air, for example, uses a 727-200C to service the communities of Resolute Bay and Arctic Bay in Nunavut, both of which have gravel runways.

The high mounted engines greatly reduces the risk of foreign object damage.

Other companies use the 727 as a way to transport passengers to their resorts or cruise ships.

Such was the example of Carnival Cruise Lines, which used both the 727 and 737 to fly both regular flights and flights to transport their passengers to cities that harbored their ships.
Carnival used the jets on its airline division, Carnival Air Lines.

According to the Boeing Jetliner Databook, the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System, also known as 'Con Air', currently uses four 727 aircraft to transport persons in legal custody between prisons, detaining centers, courthouses, and other places where they must be transported.

At the turn of the 21st century, the 727 was in service with a few airline fleets.

However, due to changes by the U.S. FAA and the ICAO in over-water flight requirements, most major airlines had already begun to switch to twin-engine aircraft, which are more fuel-efficient and quieter than the three-engine 727.

Also, the 727 was one of the last airliners in service to have a three-person flight crew, including a flight engineer, a crew member whose tasks have been largely automated on newer airliners.

Faced with higher fuel costs (although all major United States airlines phased them out immediately prior to the oil price increases since 2003), lower passenger volumes due to the post-9/11 economic climate, increasing restrictions on airport noise, and the extra expenses of maintaining older planes and paying flight engineers' salaries, most major airlines have phased 727s out of their fleets.

Delta Air Lines, the last major U.S. carrier to do so, retired its last 727 from scheduled service March 2003. Northwest Airlines retired its last 727 from charter service in June 2003.

However, the 727 is still flying for smaller start-up airlines, cargo airlines, and charter airlines, and it is also sometimes used as a private means of transportation.

The official replacement for the 727 in Boeing's lineup was the Boeing 757.

However, the smallest 757 variant, the 757-200, is significantly larger than the 727-200, so many airlines replaced their 727s with either the 737-800 or Airbus A320, both of which are closer in size to the 727-200.

Variants

There are two variants of the 727. The 727-100 was launched in 1960 and placed into service in February 1964.

The 727-200 was launched in 1965 and placed into service in December 1967.

727-100

The first production model was known as the 727-100.

The first 727-100 flew on February 9, 1963 and FAA type approval was awarded on December 24 of that year.

The first delivery to United Airlines was made prior to this on October 29, to allow pilot training to commence.

The first 727 passenger service was flown by Eastern Air Lines on February 1, 1964, between Miami, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

A total of 571 727-100s were delivered (407 -100s, 53 -100Cs, and 111 -100QCs).

One 727-100 was completed and retained by Boeing, bringing total production to 572.

727-100C

Convertible passenger cargo version. Additional freight door and strengthened floor and floor beams. Three alternate fits:

* 94 mixed-class passengers
* 52 mixed class passengers and four cargo pallets (22,700 lb, 10,297 kg)
* Eight cargo pallets (38,000 lb, 17,237 kg)

727-100QC

QC stands for Quick Change. This is similar to the Convertible version with a roller-bearing floor for palletised galley and seating and/or cargo to allow much faster changeover time (30 minutes).