Aircraft – Boeing 727-100

By the late 1950s it had become clear that jet turbines offered not just speed over pistons and early turboprops, but significantly improved reliability and much lower maintenance requirements. With four-engined 707s and DC-8s quickly becoming standard equipment on the world’s long-haul routes, airline executives hounded airframers to create jet replacements for their short- and medium-haul propeller fleets.

But each airline had its own unique network challenges and operational wish lists. Boeing talked to its largest potential customers: Eastern had routes to the Caribbean and even Northeast-to-Florida runs that were more than 60 minutes from land, so by law they could not use two-engined types. American, however, wanted the economy of a two-engined aircraft to save on fuel, parts, and labor, as its network was almost entirely overland and largely avoided mountains. United with its high-altitude hub at Denver, needed an aircraft with lots of power that could still reach the East Coast. All carriers noted that smaller cities’ airports often had shorter runways and less-developed facilities, so cabin accessibility and high-lift wings were must-haves.

Boeing’s engineers picked an engine count greater than two and less than four to balance economy with thrust. They moved the turbines from the wings up onto the fuselage, allowing the cabin to sit lower to the ground for ease of loading and service, and giving a “clean” wing for good performance that still fit into hangars and gate spaces originally meant for mainline propeller craft. Its cabin width was the same as the pioneering 707 and derivative 720 so airlines could standardize seating and cabin amenities for a consistent passenger experience.

The 727-100 was launched in December 1960 with large orders from Eastern and United and entered service in February 1964. Its versatility, economy, and workhorse-like performance were quickly recognized, and by the mid 1970s all US top-tier carriers were flying large fleets of the type.

(The 727-200 will be explored in a separate page, given its outsize importance in the airline industry.)

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Northwest

Northwest’s once-globespanning Douglas DC-6 and DC-7 fleets by the early 1960s were largely relegated to cargo duties and milk runs between Seattle and the Twin Cities – with the four-engined Boeing 720B covering longer-range and higher-density domestic routes and the four-turboprop Lockheed Electra supporting on mainline frequencies and reaching mid-size cities. Boeing 707-320s had supplanted the original Douglas DC-8s on trans-Pacific sectors, and the Seattle-based manufacturer had a proposition for NWA: why not simplify its fleet further?

The 727 could replace all the remaining propeller types in Northwest’s fleet thanks to its short-field and high-altitude capabilities, plus its rear airstair and easy-access hold appropriate for smaller-staffed stations. Its capacity, speed, and range were similar enough to the Model 720 that they were complementary on core routes like Minneapolis – Chicago and Detroit – Washington DC, as passengers on such routes wanted uniform jet service. (The later 727-200 of course would be the ideal replacement for the 720s.) Parts commonality between 727 and 707 models would help reduce spares costs, and the 727 was powered by Northwest’s preferred engine vendor, Pratt & Whitney. How could NWA resist?

NWA ordered its first batch of 11 727-100s in early 1964, configured with 93 seats and lots of legroom, later increased with another 9 -100s and 12 -100C types by 1972 with a forward cargo door that could be converted between freight and passenger duty.

The 727-100 was never the most numerous type in the Northwest fleet, but its ability to handle almost any domestic sector in the 48 States and its JT8D-7B engine commonality with many 727-200s kept them on the property well into the Bowling Shoe livery era: 8 were still earning their keep on the network in early 1990 (with 118 seats) and the variant did not fade out until 1992. NWA’s ultimate replacement for the 727-100, as it turns out, was the Airbus A320.

Pacific

Strong traffic on core routes in the mid-1960s led Pacific’s analysts to conclude upgauging from turboprop F-27s to pure-jets would both further cut per-passenger costs and stimulate even more business – despite not having authorities to fly the high-traffic routes in California such as Los Angeles – San Francisco / Oakland / Sacramento, or longer sectors like SFO – Portland / Seattle / San Diego. Outside of LAX to San Jose and Monterrey/Salinas, and San Jose to Burbank, the rest of the Pacific system was decidedly short-haul oriented with multi-stop routings unsuited to big jets. That did not stop the company from signing an order for four Boeing 727-100s on September 13, 1965 to be delivered in 1968, and leasing two from the summer of 1966.

Within weeks of delivery and introduction to service, the realization that 727s were much too large for Pacific’s routes was clear. By January 1967 the first two frames were subleased out, and when the third arrived in March 1967, it too was subleased.

Remaining 727 orders were cancelled and instead, Pacific ordered the brand-new and smaller Boeing 737 twin-jet – but as the inevitable three-way combination with Bonanza and West Coast neared, this order was also cancelled.

Air West

Pacific had subleased its three 727-100s to National and BWIA, but those were short-term placements and the flock returned to California in 1968. The combined Air West really only needed its Douglas DC-9s to cover its higher-traffic sectors, but with nowhere else to send them, they were painted in the new RW scheme and dispatched over the network during Winter 1968 – Spring 1969.

The trio were once again subleased in March 1969, this time to Braniff International for a year and long enough to end their obligation by Air West; after Braniff, two of the fleet would join Alaska Airlines and the third would go all the way to Burma (now Myanmar.) RW would come back to Boeing for the tri-jet several years later – which we will cover in the Boeing 727-200 page.

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