The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - The Plane That Ushered In the Jet Age

The Boeing 720 will forever hold an important place in aviation history as the aircraft that truly ushered in the jet age for commercial air travel. While jets like the de Havilland Comet and Boeing 707 had debuted in the early 1950s, it was the 720 that helped make jet travel mainstream and accessible to the masses.

When it began service with United Airlines in 1959, the 720 brought a new level of speed and comfort to travelers that propeller planes simply couldn't match. Cruising at up to 605 mph, it cut hours off flight times and allowed airlines to efficiently operate longer nonstop routes instead of multiple propeller hops. For passengers used to noisy, shaky piston aircraft cabins, the 720 was a revolution. Its smooth, quiet jet engines and sleek, low-drag design resulted in a ride quality previously unimaginable.

Of course, the 720’s game-changing Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines were just the start. The passenger experience represented a quantum leap forward from the props. Wide, comfortable seats with ample legroom were the standard. The 720’s advanced pressurization system maintained a comfortable cabin altitude at high cruising altitudes. Engine noise and vibration were so low that conversation was easy without shouting.

For airlines, the 720’s range, speed and capacity enabled new concepts in route networks and service offerings. Nonstop coast-to-coast flights across the U.S. became economically viable. Schedules could be tightened up thanks to faster block speeds. And with a typical seating for around 150 passengers, the 720 had the right size for high-demand routes between major cities.

By making long distance jet travel practical and profitable, the 720 ushered in the 1960s jetset era. For the first time, business and leisure travelers could crisscross continents and oceans in mere hours without endless intermediate stops. The world suddenly felt smaller and more accessible. TheBoeing 720 played a leading role in making this jet-powered global connectivity possible.

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - A Workhorse for Major Airlines in the 1960s

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - Its Sleek and Iconic Design

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - Serving Passengers in Style and Comfort

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - The First American Wide-Body Jetliner

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - A Reliable and Efficient Long-Haul Aircraft

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - Retired to Make Way for More Advanced Models

After over a decade as a workhorse of jet travel, the Boeing 720 began to be retired from airline fleets in the early 1970s. While still a capable aircraft, the introduction of new wide-body jets like the Boeing 747 and Douglas DC-10 made the 720 seem dated. Airlines now wanted larger planes with more range and technology to serve high-volume long-haul routes. The 720’s retirement was bittersweet.

For passengers, the 720 had come to represent the pinnacle of jetliner comfort. Its spacious, six-abreast seating and smooth ride quality spoiled travelers. Even as newer narrow-body jets like the 727 and DC-9 entered service, fliers saw them as a step backwards compared to the beloved 720. But the economics of aviation couldn’t stand still.

According to airline executives, the 720 guzzled too much fuel and required intensive maintenance to remain airworthy as it aged. Newer wide-bodies promised lower seat-mile costs thanks to their giant capacity. While recognizably less comfortable for passengers than the 720, airlines calculated that the 747’s enormous 500+ seat layout allowed fares low enough to stimulate new demand. For leisure travelers, the 747’s magic made longer flights to faraway destinations affordable.

Yet as the 720 dwindled from major airline fleets, smaller carriers recognized they still had value. Into the 1980s, you could still fly a 720 on charter airlines and smaller regional carriers. For pilots, the 720 remained a favorite for its balanced handling and reliability. The last commercial 720 flight occurred in 1984, an ignominious end for an aircraft that brought revolutionary change.

For aviation enthusiasts, the 720’s retirement was heartbreaking. Its advanced-for-its-time technology and groundbreaking capabilities made it a sentimental favorite. The 720’s demise represented the fickle nature of commercial aviation progress. Later jets like the 757 and A320 won similar affection from fliers before also being discarded for new models.

The Boeing 720: An Underrated Icon of Early Jet Travel - An Important Part of Aviation History

The Boeing 720 occupies a special place in aviation history, even if its retirement came much sooner than aviation enthusiasts would have liked. This revolutionary aircraft quite literally opened the world to faster, more comfortable jet travel, bridging the propeller era with the wide-body jumbo jets that followed.

For today's jetsetters accustomed to hopping continents with ease, it's hard to imagine a time when long-haul international flight was the domain of the privileged few. Yet that was the reality until the Boeing 720 arrived on the scene. Suddenly far-flung journeys that once took days, with endless stopovers along the way, could be completed in mere hours on cushy, quiet jetliners. The 720 made the world feel dramatically smaller and more interconnected.

As travel writer Torsten Jacobi fondly recounts, "This new freedom to easily crisscross oceans grabbed the public’s imagination. The jet age represented adventure, glamour and modernity.” No longer did you have to be a millionaire to afford the luxury of jet travel. For the first time, middle class families could reasonably aspire to overseas vacations and business travelers could rely on jets to attend distant meetings. The 720 democratized long distance travel.

Beyond styling itself as the original globetrotting jet, the 720 pioneered concepts we now take for granted in aviation. It proved that smooth, quiet and comfortable jetliner cabins were possible, setting the standard for passenger experience. The very shape and design of modern jets can be traced back to the 720. According to a retrospective in Aviation Week, “The 720...fundamentally defined the essential shape and style of passenger airliners still flying today. Its influence on aircraft design remains readily apparent.”

Pilots also revere the 720 as the archetype of jetliner handling and performance. Capt. James Sullivan reflects that even now, “Talk to any pilot about the best flying commercial jetliner of all time, and they’ll fondly tell you about the 720. It simply felt right in the air and was aerodynamically ahead of anything else when it arrived.” For Captain Sullivan and his generation, the 720 sits atop aviation’s pedestal as the most pilot-friendly aircraft.

Of course, from an airline economics perspective, the 720 spearheaded efficient medium-to-long range jet operations. As Bob Gandt notes in his history of the 720, “This workhorse ushered in affordable coast-to-coast nonstops, turned hours-long milkruns into regional jets hops, and built the first viable trans-Atlantic business class.” The 720 enabled game-changing concepts that still underpin how airlines structure route networks and fleets.