| On February 1, 1964, Eastern Airlines began flying the Boeing 727 in scheduled service. The Boeing 727 was the first tri-jet and became the best selling commercial airliner the first thirty years of jet transportation service, with 1,831 produced over a twenty-four year time span. 407 of the 727-100 and 1,245 of the 727-200 series were manufactured at the Boeing facility in Washington. One hundred and one customers purchased the new Boeing 727s, and now many of the 727s are being converted to freighters for air cargo service. Eastern Airlines 727s, with the famous “hockey stick” paint scheme, flew for many years until early 1991, when the airline ceased operation after filing bankruptcy in 1989. |
