End of an Era: FedEx Becomes Last Major Carrier to Retire Boeing 727

FedEx Newsroom ^ | June 21, 2013 | none

[chrisinoc]

MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 21, 2013 — For 35 years, Boeing 727 aircraft were a reliable workhorse for the world’s largest express transportation company. Today, the venerable 727 narrow-body freighter closes an enduring chapter in aviation history as FedEx becomes the last major carrier to retire the aircraft from service. The retirement is part of the company’s aircraft modernization strategy.

[clearcarbon]

What's next?

[Bobalu]

I'd guess that almost everyone has had at least one package delivered that traveled on a FedEx 727.

The even older 707 is still being used. Many old 707s are military refueling planes. John Travolta bought an old 707 and flies it regularly. He parks it in his front yard..lol

[chrisinoc]

The owner of my company still has his 727 (since the 1990s). I flew on it from Long Beach CA to Cleveland OH and back in 2006. Won't fly on it again, its avionics are from the 1980s and in questionable flying condition.

[Bobalu]

Yup, that cockpit is a huge assemblage of old analog meters and mechanical switches...looks pretty ancient.

[yorkie]

Did you know that FedEx and UPS are merging?

(They are going to call the new company “FedUP”.)

Sorry - but I couldn’t resist.

[Ronin]

I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for that bird. The first flight of my life was aboard a PSA 727 from San Francisco to San Diego on my way to Navy Boot Camp in 1976.

[chrisinoc]

That is what the 727 cockpit looks like. The pilot let me sit in his seat while we were flying over the Rockies.

[kik5150]

The 727 is the plane with the aft airstair that could be deployed in flight. DB Cooper used to parachute out of.

[Secret Agent Man]

good grief that’s tight. gotta go outside the cockpit to change your mind.

[chrisinoc]

After DB Cooper did that, Boeing retrofitted the 727s so it was not possible to do that anymore.

[Tainan]

Ancient?....heck...I think I see a cassette player above the navigators table.

Upgrade from the 8-track model.

Jokes aside, these 727 narrow-body freighters are all over Asia and Africa doing big time bidness.

Got spares?

[RegulatorCountry]

Ancient or not, they were comfortable planes from a passenger perspective, roomy, smooth, not loud or abrupt or cramped as many of it’s more modern replacements often are. I started flying frequently for business in the late eighties and experienced the domestic short and medium haul transition firsthand, from 727 to 737 and the plane I loved to hate, would actually try to book to avoid, the Fokker F-28. Supremely uncomfortable. I’d rather be on a smaller SAAB turboprop than those things. Fumes, odd noises and motions while in flight, loud, cramped, nothing to like other than getting out of it at your destination.

[theBuckwheat]

The 727 needs a Flight Engineer. How many people are still current for that rating?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Northwest had dozens of 727s. Flew on them every month out of Mpls...

[JPG]

My Dad captained the 727 for United in the 60’s, I remember he said the pilots referred to it as the ‘kitty car’.

[vetvetdoug]

I guess Auburn Calloway is sad. Remember him? He would have been an Obama supporter but his biggest fan was OBL.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We flew on a Mexicana 727 from Mexico City to Ixtapa some years ago. The pilot apologized for our late start and to make up for the error, he said he would provide a tour of the nearby smoking volcano that had recently coughed up some ash and smoke.
He banked the big airplane over on its side as we passed over the smoking crater. The interior of the plane smelled like sulfur for the rest of the trip south. Chiwawa !

[onedoug]

Terrific plane.

“Wilson!”

[BwanaNdege]

“...its avionics are from the 1980s and in questionable flying condition.”

Either it is airworthy and passes the annual inspection (or more frequent, depending on category registered) or it is not.

If the avionics work properly, then “the 1980’s” vintage is immaterial.