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