Eastern Airlines Boeing 727-200 Whisper Jet

Additional Information:

The Boeing 727 is a narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flights from smaller airports. On December 5, 1960, the 727 was launched with 40 orders each from United Airlines and Eastern Air Lines. The first 727-100 rolled out on November 27, 1962, first flew on February 9, 1963, and first entered service with Eastern on February 1, 1964.

The only trijet aircraft to be produced by Boeing, the 727 is powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D low-bypass turbofans below a T-tail, one on each side of the rear fuselage and a center one fed through an S-duct. The Boeing 727 design was a compromise among United Airlines, American Airlines, and Eastern Air Lines for each of the three had developed requirements for a jet airliner to serve smaller cities with shorter runways and fewer passengers. United Airlines had requested a four-engine aircraft for its flights to high-altitude airports, especially its hub at Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado.

Eastern Airlines was a major United States legacy air carrier that existed from 1926 through 1991 and was based in Miami, Florida. The carrier had a massive route structure throughout the eastern U.S. as well as into Central and South America. Eastern began service to Albuquerque on November 1, 1979 and was the second major carrier to come to the city after the airline deregulation act was passed one year earlier. Initially two daily flights to their main hub in Atlanta were operated, one nonstop and the other with a stop at Dallas/Fort Worth, using Boeing 727’s. Eastern struggled financially through the latter half of the 1980’s and all service from Albuquerque ended on August 31, 1988. Eastern, once the second busiest airline in the world, shut down in 1991.

Eastern Airlines began scheduled service to Albuquerque Sunport on November 1, 1979 with the Boeing 727-200 N8141N which made Albuquerque the second city with coast-to-coast national airline service.

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