After news wires reported this week about the plans of the management of new Democratic Republic of Congo operator Fly Congo to destroy five Boeing 727s of its predecessor carrier Hewa Bora Airways to restore the confidence of the Congolese people in airlines in the country, we thought we should search OAG’s Schedules iNet database to see which airlines across the globe are still planning to use the type on flights next month. You may be surprised to learn that six airlines still have Boeing 727 flights planned for April 2012 with the type scheduled to fly over 1,000 rotations during the month.
The Middle East and South America are the two remaining playgrounds for the ageing workhorse, once prevalent in the fleets of air carriers across the developed world. The three-engined jet was developed from the Boeing 707 in the early 1960s and made its first flight on February 9, 1963 and entered service with US carrier Eastern Airlines in February 1964. When production ended 20 years later in 1984, a total of 1,832 units had rolled off the production line the majority of which have since been scrapped as more stringent noise regulations have limited the markets the type can still serve. Around ten to 20 aircraft are now believed to still be in a flyable condition, with even freighter versions having been retired in favour of more efficient modern equipment.
Iran is the largest remaining market for the 727 with two airlines still using the type on scheduled routes. Iran Asseman Airlines has 338 planned flights planned and Iran Air 211 scheduled rotations in April 2012. Iran Asseman Airlines is mainly using the type on its routes from Mashad and Tehran’s two airports - Imam Khomeini International and its domestic gateway Mehrabad – although the type is also due to fly between Ahwaz and Kuwait City. From Mashad the 727 is due to fly on domestic routes to Ahwaz, Tehran Mehrabad, Yazd and Zahedan and on international routes to Dubai, Kabul, Kandahar and Kuwait City. From Tehran Mehrabad it also due to serve Ahwaz and Asaloyeh while links from Tehran Imam Khomeini International to Kabul, Kandahar and Yerevan are also scheduled.
Meanwhile, Iran Air, the country’s national carrier, may be operating less flights with the 727 than its local rival, but its activities are much more diverse. The type is mainly used on domestic routes from Tehran Mehrabad with flights to Ardabil, Ahwaz, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Kermanshah, Mashad, Shahre Kord, Shiraz, Tabriz, Urumiyeh, Yazd and Zahedan scheduled for next month. However, the 727 will also be used to offer regional connections within Iran and to provide international links from destinations outside of the capital, including from Ahwaz and Shahre Kord to Kuwait City and from Shiraz to Doha. The 727 is also scheduled to operate a weekly flight between Tehran Imam Khomeini International and Moscow Sheremetyevo.
Libyan carrier Air Libya is the second largest remaining operator of the 727 with 257 flights scheduled with the type in April 2012. The airline will mainly use the trijet on flights from Benghazi and Tripoli with the aircraft timetabled to fly domestically between the two Libyan cities and from Benghazi to Alexandria, Cairo, Istanbul, Kufra, Sebha and Tunis and from Tripoli to Cairo, Istanbul, Kufra and Tobruk. Air Libya is also scheduled to use the 727 on routes from Kufra to El Fasher and Khartoum in Sudan and from Sebha to Tunis.
Ariana Afghan Airlines continues to use its 727s on a number of domestic and international routes as it awaits the arrival of modern generation equipment. The airline has 80 flights planned with the 727 in April 2012 including domestic links from the capital Kabul to Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and to Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). From Kandahar it also plans to offer 727 links to New Delhi, India and Mashad, Iran, while from Mazar-e-Sharif the 727 will fly to Dushanbe, Tajikistan and Tehran, Iran.
The two remaining 727 operators are in South America – Aerosur in Bolivia and TAME in Ecuador. Aerosur has 120 flights scheduled with the 727 in April 2012 linking Sucre with La Paz and Santa Cruz. TAME is due to use its 727s on just 12 rotations during the month linking Guayaquil with San Cristobal Island and Quito.
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