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United accelerates 727 retirement
Question:
> My only 727 flight was in a UA 727 from Dulles to MCO. A very > smooth flight.
It all depends on where you are seated. My first flight on a pesky F28 was on Ansett and I was in row 2 up front and I had same reaction to you. But after having been seated row 13 on a CP pesky F28 right next to the engines, I never again though of that pesky plane as a quiet one. Compare that to the sound levels on a flying skidoo in the last row and you see a HUGE difference. The CRJ is MUCH quieter inside than the pesky F28 and DC-9s. Only flew a 727 once and I was seated towards the back, and although its sound levels didn’t traumatize me, it did sound like an old noisy plane , just like the 737-200 or DC-9.
Response:
When UA announced that they were switching to larger planes on some inter-hub flights, I wondered what they would be doing with the smaller planes that would no longer be used. Now we know – 727s to the recycling bin. Bob C.
Response:
> It all depends on where you are seated. My first flight on a pesky F28 was on > Ansett and I was in row 2 up front and I had same reaction to you. But after > having been seated row 13 on a CP pesky F28 right next to the engines, I never > again thought of that pesky plane as a quiet one.
How about row 12? From my trusty sound meter at cruise: 88 dBA or 100 dBC As a reminder, dBA measures sounds as you hear them with your ears, so very low or high frequency sounds are not measured. dBC measures the same frequency ranges that you hear, but adds low frequencies to the scale, so in addition to normally heard sounds, it measures sounds you feel more than hear. > Compare that to the sound levels on a flying skidoo in the last row and you > see a HUGE difference. The CRJ is MUCH quieter inside than the pesky F28 and > DC-9s.
I don’t have a CRJ’s readings, will a EMB145 in row 7 do? EMB 145, row 7 88 dBA or 94 dBC DC-9-15, row 9 73 dBA or 88 dBC DC-9-30, row 2 78 dBA or 81 dBC 328JET, row 7 79 dBA or 88 dBC > Only flew a 727 once and I was seated towards the back, and although > its sound levels didn’t traumatize me, it did sound like an old noisy plane , > just like the 737-200 or DC-9.
Looks psychosomatic. You think it’s louder because it’s old: 727-200, row 4 80 dBA or 84 dBC 727-200, aft galley 84 dBA or 92 dBC 737-200, row 6 74 dBA or 87 dBC 737-300, row 5 79 dBA or 84 dBC Looking at newer planes for comparison: A320, row 17 76 dBA or 91 dBC 737-800, row 2 75 dBA or 84 dBC 757-200, row 10 73 dBA or 88 dBC 777-200, row 17 71 dBA or 83 dBC Now compare it to the plane I love to hate: Beech 1900, row 3 94 dBA or 110 dBC
Response:
> United accelerates retirement of 727-200 aircraft
UA has been planning to phase out the 727-200 fleet because the 722 has 45% higher seat-mile costs than the A320, especially in terms of fuel burn. I expect UA to have 150-200 more A320 Family planes by 2010. — Raymond Chuang Mountain View, CA USA
Response:
>United accelerates retirement of 727-200 aircraft
My only 727 flight was in a UA 727 from Dulles to MCO. A very smooth flight. On take-off I thought Gee this aircraft is so quiet, and it was. However, at normal cruising speed the noise level is much the same as the jets which have engines on the wings. So it seems that wind roar is the main noise factor. Same story coming in to land though, very quiet plane indeed. I guess if engines in the tail made for a quieter aircraft by a significant margin, more planes would have been built in that configuration. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >By Patrick Markey >NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) – United Airlines parent company UAL Corp. >(NYSE:UAL – news) on Friday said it was speeding up retirement of its Boeing >727-200 aircraft due to the protracted U.S. economic slowdown and higher fuel costs. > Chicago-based United, the nation’s No. 2 airline, said it plans to retire 33 >aircraft this year and 32 in 2002, an increase on its previous retirement >schedule by eight aircraft this year and seven next year. > The airline said the 75 aircraft in its present 727-200 fleet will be fully >retired by March 2003. > “Given the soft economy and our anticipated higher costs for fuel and labor, >we have decided to retire 33 of our B727-200s this year, ahead of the >original schedule,” said Jake Brace, UAL’s senior vice president for finance. > The economic slowdown has hit the airline industry particularly hard, with >most major carriers recently reporting huge quarterly losses as corporations >cut back on business travel, a major source of airline revenue. > Air carriers have also been feeling the pinch from high jet fuel prices and >rising labor costs associated with fresh employee contracts. > The Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA – news) 727-200 is a three-pilot, three- engine >aircraft used in U.S. domestic service at United’s hubs. The fleet has an >average age of 22 years, the airline said. >United said the Boeing aircraft will be replaced by two- engine, two-pilot >A320s and A319s manufactured by Boeing’s European rival, Airbus Industrie , >which the carrier said will be cheaper to operate. >During the last six months United has retired its B747-200s and DC-10s as part >of a program to modernize its fleet of aircraft. >At the end of this year, United said it will operate 611 aircraft with an >average age of 9.6 years. By the end of 2002 it will have an operating fleet >of 628 aircraft with an average age of 9.1 years, it said.
Response:
United accelerates retirement of 727-200 aircraft By Patrick Markey NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) – United Airlines parent company UAL Corp. (NYSE:UAL – news) on Friday said it was speeding up retirement of its Boeing 727-200 aircraft due to the protracted U.S. economic slowdown and higher fuel costs. Chicago-based United, the nation’s No. 2 airline, said it plans to retire 33 aircraft this year and 32 in 2002, an increase on its previous retirement schedule by eight aircraft this year and seven next year. The airline said the 75 aircraft in its present 727-200 fleet will be fully retired by March 2003. “Given the soft economy and our anticipated higher costs for fuel and labor, we have decided to retire 33 of our B727-200s this year, ahead of the original schedule,” said Jake Brace, UAL’s senior vice president for finance. The economic slowdown has hit the airline industry particularly hard, with most major carriers recently reporting huge quarterly losses as corporations cut back on business travel, a major source of airline revenue. Air carriers have also been feeling the pinch from high jet fuel prices and rising labor costs associated with fresh employee contracts. The Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA – news) 727-200 is a three-pilot, three- engine aircraft used in U.S. domestic service at United’s hubs. The fleet has an average age of 22 years, the airline said. United said the Boeing aircraft will be replaced by two- engine, two-pilot A320s and A319s manufactured by Boeing’s European rival, Airbus Industrie , which the carrier said will be cheaper to operate. During the last six months United has retired its B747-200s and DC-10s as part of a program to modernize its fleet of aircraft. At the end of this year, United said it will operate 611 aircraft with an average age of 9.6 years. By the end of 2002 it will have an operating fleet of 628 aircraft with an average age of 9.1 years, it said.