Charter carrier Champion Air announced today that it is going call it quits, according to the Dallas Morning News. Champion will be grounding its fleet of 14 Boeing 727 aircraft.
That’s right, I said Boeing 727 aircraft. According to Wikipedia, the first 727 flew in 1963 and the 727 family continued to be made until 1984. Assuming that Champion had some of the newest 727s made, they’d still be 25 to 30 years old. Again, flying older, inefficient aircraft in times when oil prices are so high doesn’t bode well for airlines.
If I were Northwest Airlines with their fleet of ancient DC-9 aircraft, I’d be scared. I’d be very scared.