Call me old fashioned...

You didn't miss anything. I flew them in their very early days CMH-BUR and about 2 hours in, was really desperate to be off that plane. Granted, I had done a red-eye the night before to get to PHL then a delayed WN flight to CMH.

Our cabin crew were (as I dryly nicknamed at the time), Forward Gay Boy, Aft Gay Boy, and Token Female. And yes, just like Ryanair, there was the trolley trash for sale that nobody bought (as far as I could tell). The catering has already been on the plane for 3 legs, and you weren't permitted to bring anything on board to eat, or so they claimed.
Not sure if it was a rumor or not, but I remember a couple people telling me the cabin or cockpit crew would actually buy stuff to sell between turns in some cities. Couldn't have been that bad...could it?
 
But growing up I lived about a mile from the airport that this airline flew out of.

The DO for Flight Express when I was there had been the CP for GP for years before they went under. Spoke very highly of it...even had a model of a 99 on his desk, IIRC. How someone could think highly of a 99 is, of course, beyond me...
 
The DO for Flight Express when I was there had been the CP for GP for years before they went under. Spoke very highly of it...even had a model of a 99 on his desk, IIRC. How someone could think highly of a 99 is, of course, beyond me...

Man don't get me started with GP Express. My dad was a manager of a radio station where I grew up. And he had frequent meetings with the head of that airline. One of my professors in college also flew as an FO for them as well. Both thought it was a awesome op.

The problem is that when GP Express shut down in 1996 the airport in my home town died a slow painful death. There used to be a decent crop dusting op, some flight training, and some King Airs (with an odd Lear or Citation). Oh and a few flights by Suburban Air Freight. Now when I go back to my hometown there are a few GA flights, no flight training, and the FBO is baron. But Suburban Air Freight still has a few runs (I think). That's my opinion anyway. And it is what it is I guess.

Edit: Wow that post was a downer. I'll need to think of something semi witty and funny to post in the lav later.
 
Was it with 727-100s? I very vaguely remember hearing something about that and seeing some of their 721s running freight with windows on the fuselage. I wonder where they flew.
 
Was it with 727-100s? I very vaguely remember hearing something about that and seeing some of their 721s running freight with windows on the fuselage. I wonder where they flew.

Yes, was roughly 1997-ish if memory serves correctly. 727s converted to pax operations for some charters. Mexico, somewhere, I think Cancun maybe?

The conversions took about 3-ish hours to do, and supposedly were pretty comfortable. Not sure when those charters ceased, but I don't remember it lasting very long.
 
Yes, was roughly 1997-ish if memory serves correctly. 727s converted to pax operations for some charters. Mexico, somewhere, I think Cancun maybe?

The conversions took about 3-ish hours to do, and supposedly were pretty comfortable. Not sure when those charters ceased, but I don't remember it lasting very long.
Ah, 3-hours, sounds like they had some 727-100QCs then (which stood for "Quick Change" between pax and freight). I guess the difference between a QC and a Combi was it was either all pax or all freight, not a COMBInation of the two? Google would know, but I'm lazy.

The things you learn in a day.
 
ec72f45a96c6260621a0b5e98385aff2.jpg

45f47a945a3d65ee3633de20fc8ffc40.jpg


Look a here, look a here! This is what I get for, "A-nutting", for 4-5 mins!
Seggy was right on the $$$ .
:)

In all seriousness, what was the conversion on the number 2 engine and the purpose for it?
 
Does Alaska still do the combos to the bush. I remember jumping into 737-2s that were part cargo, part cattle out of places like Nome and Kotz. One time they forgot to secure the front legs of my seat to the floor. Told the FA who relayed it to the captain. FA returns from the intercom and tells me, "I'm sorry sir, the captain says we're already taxiing. We'll have to deal with that once we've leveled off at altitude." I'm not the litigious type, but years later a lawyer told me I didn't have to be. All I would have had to do was ask for a great big check as I exited the aircraft.
 
Ah, 3-hours, sounds like they had some 727-100QCs then (which stood for "Quick Change" between pax and freight). I guess the difference between a QC and a Combi was it was either all pax or all freight, not a COMBInation of the two? Google would know, but I'm lazy.

The things you learn in a day.
As I remember (not positive- I am old lol) they had a half a dozen or so of the QC planes and didn't they just fly them on the weekends? I think they went to the Bahamas, PR, Mexico and some other vaca spots??? I asked my sister and she said they also had some relation with some of the cruise lines, had trips to Florida and were more like charter flights? I don't know how many pax they could accomodate per flight either. I can't remember if they stopped them after 9/11 or before but I am pretty sure it was in 2001. Not sure why though because they seemed to be making bucks on the flights and using the planes on the weekends to garner revenue seemed pretty damn smart to me. @DE727UPS probably knows.
 
Last edited:
ec72f45a96c6260621a0b5e98385aff2.jpg

45f47a945a3d65ee3633de20fc8ffc40.jpg


Look a here, look a here! This is what I get for, "A-nutting", for 4-5 mins!
Seggy was right on the $$$ .
:)

In all seriousness, what was the conversion on the number 2 engine and the purpose for it?


Might be a dumb guess but I would assume some kind of hush kit.

Also correct me if I'm wrong (and I likely am). But wasn't one of the reasons why sone airlines stopped using the 727 because it would have cost to much to retrofit the hush kits? At least that's what I saw from an annual report from DAL or UAL back in 2002ish.
 
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