Pratt & Whitney and the Republic Financial Corp-oration have jointly acquired the rights to 119 Boeing 727-200s being retired by Delta Air Lines. The move secures airframes for conversion to freighters and perpetuates JT9D-15/15A engine overhaul and spares work.
Delta is due to withdraw all of its 727s from service by 2005, starting this year with an initial 20 jets. The airline was only prepared to sell the fleet in its entirety, along with 39 spare engines.
Under the terms of the estimated $150-200 million deal, Delta has been given guaranteed prices on the aircraft over the next six years. Airframe time for the 1972-82 build 727s ranges between 40,000h and 80,000h, while the number of cycles varies from 25,000 to 60,000.
Republic, which purchased the airframes as part of its share of the deal, hopes to convert up to 70 727s to freighters for resale. A number of the high-time aircraft will probably have to be scrapped. Pratt & Whitney plans to refurbish the JT8Ds at its Columbus plant and those not needed for the freighters will be sold as spares.
"Many of the JT8D-powered 727s have useful lives of another 10 to 20 years of service as freighters-we can offer spare engine and parts support to other JT8D operators that will keep their costs of ownership down," says PW executive vice president Robert Leduc.
The deal, the first of this size by a powerplant manufacturer, will help secure the 727 and JT8D's residual resale value on the second market. The Delta aircraft represent almost 10% of the total 727 fleet still operating worldwide.
Source: Flight International
