Volume
4
Issue
1
Abstract
The Boeing 727-200 and 757-200 are both narrowbody aircraft designed for short- to medium-range flights carrying 164 to 214 passengers. Until recently, when overtaken by the Boeing 737, the 727-200 program was the most successful aircraft program in history. The 727 airplane has carried 2.3 billion passengers, equivalent to half the world's population (Sterling, 1992). More than half of all 727s sold were advanced 200s and as late as 1990 an incredible 50% of all U.S. passenger traffic had flown on 727-200s since the advanced model was launched in 1971. For several years it was this plane ... that provided Boeing with its positive cash flow and almost singlehandedly wiped out the company's debt. (Sterling, 1992, p. 343) With this kind of achievement, the 727 program was hard to discontinue. (Actually, the 757 program was originally named the 727-300 program.) The need for a successor to the 727-200 (advanced) was spurred by the oil crisis of 1973 and by increasing public demand for noise suppression. The 757 program used only two engines under each wing instead of the three engines used in the 727. These two engines were not only Stage 3 compliant but also much more fuel efficient. There are now 497 757-200s operating worldwide while there are still 910 727-200 (advanced) models operating. A gradual phase-out of the 7278 and phase-in of the 757 could occur over time, but public outcry over noise at airports around the country has led the government to force airlines to move more quickly.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Coddington, P. B.
(1993).
A Cost Analysis: Re-Engining a Boeing 727-200 (Advanced) Versus Buying a New Boeing 757-200.
Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 4(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15394/jaaer.1993.1110
