Call this video a window into the past. It is amazing to think that in just 40 years, every single type of plane featured in this video is now retired. Most of them are now proverbial beer cans.
In this great video by Youtube user VideofromGeorge, you’ll see a host of Boeing 727s, DC-10s, a DC-8 stretch, and even a North Central Convair CV-580.
North Central was a ‘local service carrier‘. A few months after this video, North Central merged to become Republic Airlines. Republic eventually became part of Northwest Airlines. Northwest eventually merged with Delta Air Lines.
Much like today, Chicago was dominated by United Airlines. At the time, it was the largest airline in the city. American Airlines also had a significant presence back in the day. Today, they are the second largest carrier at O’Hare.
“It is amazing to think that in just 40 years, every single type of plane featured in this video is now retired”. Totally misleading and very US-centric, and even then wrong.
In 2020, prior to the lockdown, whilst no DC10s were in passenger service,there were DC10s operating for FedEx and Omega, at least one fire fighting model, not to mention the converted DC10s of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the USAF KC-10s.
You just need to cross the border to Canada to find B737-200s operating daily scheduled passenger flights, indeed a 36 year old 737-200 of Nolinor made a virus rescue flight from Canada to Morocco and back in March.
Whilst airline passenger flights on B727s are a thing of the past, there are examples of both the original and 200 series flying as exec jets and a number of 200 series freighters still fly in South America and Africa, not to mention those in specialist roles such as those operated by Oil Sill Response in the UK.
As for the CV580, Air Chathams passenger and freight versions were flying schedules every day until the lockdown from their bases in New Zealand.
As for the DC8, there are four cargo DC8s operating schedules in South America, the Samaritans Purse DC8 operates disaster relief in a mixed passenger/freight role and NASflies one example – all are 70 series conversions.
Apologies for the typos. Oil Sill Response should be Oil Spill Response and, of course NAS should be NASA.