page_title: Boeing 727
section_title: Operational history
hierarchical_section_title: Boeing 727 / Operational history
caption_attribution_description: First flight: December 12, 1980...(c/n 22543/ 1700) 07/01/1981 Northwest Airlines N203US November 2002 Antonov Aircraft Dealer Corporation N727AN April 2005 SW Business Aviation 4K-8888, converted to VIP configuration winglets added
context_page_description: The Boeing 727 is a narrow-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
  After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airports.
  On December 5, 1960, the 727 was launched with 40 orders each from United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines.
  The first 727-100 rolled out November 27, 1962, first flew on February 9, 1963, and entered service with Eastern on February 1, 1964.
  Boeing's only trijet is powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofans below a T-tail, one on each side of the rear fuselage and a center one fed through an S-duct.
  It shares its six-abreast upper fuselage cross-section and cockpit with the 707.
  The 133 ft long 727-100 typically carries 106 passengers in two classes over 2,250 nmi, or 129 in a single class.
  Launched in 1965, the stretched 727-200 flew in July 1967 and entered service with Northeast Airlines that December.
  The 20 ft longer variant typically carries 134 passengers in two classes over 2,550 nmi, or 155 in a single class.
  Besides the airliner accommodation, a freighter and a Quick Change convertible version were offered.
context_section_description: In addition to domestic flights of medium range, the 727 was popular with international passenger airlines. The range of flights it could cover (and the additional safety added by the third engine) meant that the 727 proved efficient for short- to medium-range international flights in areas around the world. Prior to its introduction, four-engined jets or propeller-driven airliners were required for transoceanic service.
  The 727 also proved popular with cargo and charter airlines. FedEx Express introduced 727s in 1978. The 727s were the backbone of its fleet until the 2000s; FedEx began replacing them with Boeing 757s in 2007. Many cargo airlines worldwide employ the 727 as a workhorse, since, as it is being phased out of U.S. domestic service because of noise regulations, it becomes available to overseas users in areas where such noise regulations have not yet been instituted. Charter airlines Sun Country, Champion Air, and Ryan International Airlines all started with 727 aircraft.
  The 727 had some military uses, as well. Since the aft stair could be opened in flight, the Central Intelligence Agency used them to drop agents and supplies behind enemy lines in Vietnam.
  The 727 has proven to be popular where the airline serves airports with gravel, or otherwise lightly improved, runways. The Canadian airline First Air, for example, previously used a 727-100C to serve the communities of Resolute Bay and Arctic Bay in Nunavut, whose Resolute Bay Airport and former Nanisivik Airport both have gravel runways. The high-mounted engines greatly reduce the risk of foreign object damage.
  A military version, the Boeing C-22, was operated as a medium-range transport aircraft by the Air National Guard and National Guard Bureau to airlift personnel. A total of three C-22Bs were in use, all assigned to the 201st Airlift Squadron, District of Columbia Air National Guard.
  At the start of the 21st century, the 727 remained in service with a few large airlines. Faced with higher fuel costs, 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 phased out their 727s; they were replaced by twin-engined aircraft, which are quieter and more fuel-efficient. Modern airliners also have a smaller flight deck crew of two pilots, while the 727 required two pilots and a flight engineer. Delta Air Lines, the last major U.S. carrier to do so, retired its last 727 from scheduled service in April 2003. Northwest Airlines retired its last 727 from charter service in June 2003. Many airlines replaced their 727s with either the 737-800 or the Airbus A320; both are close in size to the 727-200. As of July 2013, a total of 109 Boeing 727s (5× 727-100s and 104× -200s) were in commercial service with 34 airlines; three years later, the total had fallen to 64 airframes (4× 727-100s and 60× -200s) with 26 airlines.
  On March 2, 2016, the first 727 produced (N7001U), which first flew on February 9, 1963, made a flight to a museum after extensive restoration. The 727-100 had carried about three million passengers during its years of service. Originally a prototype, it was later sold to United Airlines, which donated it to the Museum of Flight in Seattle in 1991. The jet was restored over 25 years by the museum and was ferried from Paine Field in Everett, Washington to Boeing Field in Seattle, where it was put on permanent display at the Aviation Pavilion. The Federal Aviation Administration granted the museum a special permit for the 15-minute flight. The museum's previous 727-223, tail number N874AA, was donated to the National Airline History Museum in Kansas City and will be flown to its new home once FAA ferry approval is granted.
  On January 13, 2019, the last commercial passenger flight of a Boeing 727 was flown between Zahedan and Tehran by Iran Aseman Airlines.
caption: Northwest Airlines retired its last 727 from charter service in June 2003
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