Remembering the Air France Boeing 727 Fleet

Air France today operates a fleet of modern airliner types mostly from the Airbus and Boeing stables.

Its short- and medium-haul fleet consists entirely of the Airbus A220 and A320 families of aircraft, with over a hundred examples currently flying.

These are complemented by the Embraer 170 and 190 flown by regional partner HOP.

However, in decades past Air France flew an interesting mix of types as advances in airliner technology and capabilities became available. Among these were a sizeable fleet of Boeing 727s.

Air France Boeing 727 History

Air France first ordered the Boeing 727 in the late 1960s, with the first aircraft arriving in 1968.

The fleet consisted entirely of the 727-200 variant, which could seat up to 189 passengers. In Air France service they flew with 136 economy and 20 business class seats.

At the time, Air France’s short- and medium-haul jet fleet consisted of the Sud Aviation Caravelle airliner, of which the airline was one of the first to fly. It had recently retired its last Lockheed Constellation piston airliners, and was also flying the new Fokker F27 turboprops.

Air France saw the 727 as a way to modernise is fleet on domestic, European, Middle Eastern and North African services, with a greater capacity than the Caravelle, as well as other improvements in technology and comfort.

Soon, Air France would also introduce the smaller Boeing 737, with the first arriving in 1982.

The Boeing 727 fleet, which numbered 30 examples, would serve Air France until 1992 when the last was retired.  At this time the Boeing 737 fleet had grown to include the -300 and -500 variants, and the first Airbus A320s were arriving to directly replace the 727s.

Air France Boeing 727 Fleet List

Photo (c) Andrew Thomas

F-BOJA (19543)

F-BOJB (19544)

F-BOJC (19545)

F-BOJD (19456)

F-BOJE (19861)

F-BOJF (19862)

F-BPJG (19863)

F-BPJH (19864)

F-BPJI (19865)

F-BPJJ (20075)

F-BPJK (20202)

F-BPJL (20203)

F-BPJM (20204)

F-BPJN (20409)

F-BPJO (20410)

F-BPJP (20411)

F-BPJQ (20470)

F-BPJR (20538)

F-BPJS (20539)

F-BPJT (20540)

F-BPJV (19684)

F-GCDA (22081)

F-GCDB (22082)

F-GCDC (22083)

F-GCDD (22084)

F-GCDE (22085)

F-GCDF (22287)

F-GCDG (22288)

F-GCDH (22289)

F-GCDI (22290)

Air France Boeing 727 Survivors

F-BOJA, the first Air France 727, now used as a technical airframe at Merville. Photo (c) Steve Knight

With aircraft long out of service, it’s sometimes difficult to determine if any remnants remain. This is particularly the case when aircraft have been stored or withdrawn from use, but no recent reports indicate whether the airframe still exists or has been scrapped.

If you have any updates, please leave a comment below.

Known survivors from the Air France Boeing 727 fleet include:

F-BOJA – The first Air France 727 is preserved as a ground trainer at Merville Airport, France

F-BPJR – Forward fuselage is preserved at the L Epopee De L Industrie Et De L Aeronautique in Albert, France

F-BPJV – later preserved at the Tulsa Technology Center School District No.18 in Oklahoma as N218TT

F-GCDB – later became EP-ASB with Iran Aseman and has been stored in Tehran since 2008.

F-GCDD – later became EP-ASC with Iran Aseman and is now preserved near Lavasan, Iran.

F-GCDE – later became EP-ASD with Iran Aseman and has been stored in Tehran since 2008.

Title image: Aero Icarus