Avensa Airlines of Venezuela has chosen to re-engine two of its fleet of five Boeing 727-200Advs with the "Super 27" upgrade package offered by BFGoodrich to meet US Stage 3 noise regulations. The airline has taken options covering the remaining three aircraft.
The conversion will involve replacing the 727's two outboard 71kN (16,000lb) Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17s with quieter, more efficient 89kN JT8D-217Cs, while the centre engine is fitted with a noise-suppressing exhaust mixer.
The upgrade package costs $12-15 million a shipset and is claimed to bring a 6-7% reduction in fuel consumption.
Of the three optioned aircraft, two are powered by lower-power JT8D-9s but with the same maximum take-off weight as the three JT8D-17-powered aircraft.
The Venezuelan carrier is the 17th operator to choose the BFGoodrich upgrade, and its order will bring the number of aircraft re-engined to 32.
Source: Flight International
