Former Yugoslavia holidays operator Yugotours used JAT Charter (Air Yugoslavia) 727-200's along with 707 and DC-9.
TransAdria came out of former Pan Adria who had a sole DC-9 (that went to Inex Adria, who never flew any Boeings)
Aviogenex went ''Boeing'' to replace their TU-134A's in 1983 with 727-200's, and 2 new 737-200 in 1987.
(The 727 were 2 former Tito Air Force VIP aircraft that sometimes flew charters to the UK in that livery)
Iberia 727's flew for Aviaco IT's on many occasions.
Olympic AW had a series of night charters in the 1970's from LHR to CFU, ATH, HER and RHO Maritsa.
They used 727, 720B and 707 on these.
Scanair's 727 were actually the Transair Sweden fleet but the 2 had tied up together, and Transair 727's stayed in their own colours.
Pan Am 727-100's were seen now and again at LTN and MAN subbing for the likes of Britannia etc<
and Pan Am regularly flew 727 IT charters from Berlin for German Holidaymakers until reunification.
Hapag Lloyd started up in 1973 with 727-100's around the same time as Dan Air acquired theirs. (all coming second hand from Japan)
Hapag Lloyd had 7 by 1977, as did Dan Air.
In 1979 Hapag Lloyd got 2 brand new 727-200ADV from Boeing.
No UK airline flew the 727 at that early time, but BMA were offered some 727-100's (cannot recall who from) I think they then went for the DC-9 and turned them down,
and Court Line were musing the 727-200.
No idea if Britannia AW ever considered the 727 but I am sure Boeing would have tried.
727 Funchal Madeira Airport Trivia -
When Funchal Madeira Airport started to accept Jets, TAP's 727-82's flew there, and then TAP started to fly in their new 727-282ADV from 1975.
The original runway opened in 1964 was only 1,600m long, although it was theoretically just long enough for the first generation of jets, such as the Caravelle and Boeing 727, it had become clear by 1972 that the runway would need to be extended if it was to accommodate the ever increasing flow of tourists, as it was still too short for most jets to fly non-stop back to the UK so a Fuel stop was needed at the Airport on the nearby island of Porto Santo.
However, despite the recognized need the runway extension plan still hadn’t broken ground, but was extended by 200m eight years after the terrible crash of TAP Flight 425 727-282ADV CS-TBR in 1977. TAP Flight 425 was a regular service from Brussels to Funchal, with an en route stop at Lisbon.
Madeira Airport didn’t then have an ILS; only a visual approach could be used to reach the runway.
To land there Pilots had to undergo special training to prepare them for the difficult approach pattern and the extremely unpredictable winds and difficult weather conditions that tend to form where the mountainous island meets the sea, Pilots knew to expect widespread cumulonimbus cloud formations, heavy rain showers, and possible thunderstorms in the vicinity of the Airport that they may encounter.
This required the pilots to be able to maintain visual contact with the runway at all times, both at night, or in bad weather this would be challenging.
In the case of TAP 425 which was attempting a landing in bad weather and at night, not all of the Airport runway lighting systems could be turned on simultaneously.
The Crew requested that the runway lights be turned up to their maximum intensity, to which the Controller replied that he had already done so. But in fact, not all of the lighting could be turned on simultaneously.
With the way the circuitry had been installed, it was impossible to illuminate both the Touchdown Zone lighting and the Visual Approach Slope Indicator System (VASIS) at the same time. To help the pilots of flight 425 execute their visual approach, the Controller had turned on the VASIS lighting, which meant that the lighting on the runway indicating the touchdown zone would be off.
After descending to an altitude of 980 feet, TAP 425 still could not catch sight of the runway, despite the lights. Having reached the minimum descent altitude without visual contact, they had no choice but to go around and try again. The Pilots reported to the Controller that they were climbing back to 3,500 feet and would loop around to try landing on runway 24 from the opposite direction in the hope that conditions there would be better. This runway, while angled downhill, would also allow them to land into wind.
With the airport in sight, TAP 425 lined up to approach runway 24, but the shifting clouds foiled their approach a second time, the Controller asked, “Can you still see the runway?”
TAP 425 replied, “Negative, TAP 425 is making a missed approach and is returning to the MAD [beacon].”
At an altitude of just 600 feet, the pilots had lost sight of the runway, forcing another go-around.
As they returned to the beginning of the approach pattern again for a third time, TAP 425 told the Controller, “Okay, I was on final watching 24, and suddenly after passing MAD I completely lost visual. Now I’ll try one more approach, and if I can’t get in this time, we’ll go to Las Palmas.” This attempt to land would be the last before making a costly diversion to the Canary Islands.
The Controller then offered another option. “The Front has been passing quickly,” he said. “Now I think if you wait (hold), maybe you can land.”
But the Pilots of TAP 425 could not afford to sit in a Holding Pattern and wait for conditions to improve. The Pilot on the radio replied, “I can’t, I only have fuel for one more approach.”
TAP 425 lined up to land for the third and final time. The Pilots confirmed they had the lights of runway 24 in sight; The Controller reported that a major downpour had begun near the Control Tower, but the Pilots said they could still see some of the runway lights so they continued.
For a brief moment, they seemed to lose sight again, but then at the last moment the lights came back into view.
“425, for your information, I now have calm wind on runway 24,” the Controller said “Will you try it?”
“Okay,” said 425, “I’m on final and I’ll land.”
This was last radio call heard from the 727
“Okay, wind calm, cleared to land,” the Controller replied.
Flight 425 came in hot, passing over runway 24's threshold 24 knots faster than the normal landing speed.
The Pilots flared the airplane, but at that speed combined with the gentle downward slope of the runway the 727 started “floating” a couple of meters above it, unable to touch down.
The plane overshot the normal TDZ by a significant margin before finally making contact over half way down the 1600 m runway, still traveling 20 knots faster than the optimal landing speed.
The downpour that drenched the airport only moments earlier had left a layer of water on the runway which was slow to drain off.
The runway had been grooved to allow water to run off to the sides, but over time these had worn down enough to allow some standing water, instead to run straight off the runway toward the downhill end.
As a result, when the 727 finally touched down, it did so on a surface contaminated with a continuous layer of water, and Flight 425 aquaplaned immediately, so when the Pilots tried maximum braking this proved completely ineffective.
Desperate to slow down, the Crew then applied maximum reverse thrust, but they were already out of control. An errant rudder input had sent the plane skidding to the right, then back to the left again. Flight 425 slid wildly across the runway, rapidly eating up the remaining distance with no hope of stopping in time. In the Official Accident Report it was noted that the late application of Spoilers and Speed Brakes, failure of the Anti-Skid to operate, plus an incorrect landing flap setting were all contributory factors.
Seconds later the TAP 727 flew off the precipitous west end of the runway at over 90 miles per hour and plunged down the 90 foot embankment at the foot of the runway, clearing the airport perimeter road before smashing tail-first into a disused stone bridge spanning a dry ravine.
The impact shattered the fuselage into four pieces and broke off both wings, leaving the tail section atop the bridge while the rest of the plane cartwheeled onto the rocky beach below. The right wing sheared off on impact and fell on the inland side of the bridge, while the cockpit went nose-first into the beach, where it was crushed underneath the disintegrating passenger cabin.
A fireball erupted over the crashing surf as the fuel tanks exploded, setting the wreckage ablaze.
Against all odds, some people managed to survive the crash and the fire. A few passengers from the last row found themselves still strapped into their seats on top of the bridge, protected from the inferno raging below them. Quite a few others had been thrown from the plane as it broke apart, including some who landed in the sea, where they too avoided the worst of the flames.
Among the survivors was 17-year-old Emanuel Torres, who found himself immersed in the sea with only minor injuries. He picked up a 2-year-old boy struggling in the surf and carried him to safety. Witnesses who rushed to the scene fought fire and smoke to free injured passengers from their seat belts, dragging them away in the nick of time.
Airport fire-fighters also saw the explosion off the end of runway 24 and sped toward it, only to discover that the plane had fallen down off the elevated Airport and onto the beach below, forcing them to drive back the way they came and down the perimeter road to access the crash site.
By the time they got there, Local police and fire-fighters had already arrived and had set about saving the survivors. In all, first responders and the survivors themselves did manage to save the lives of 31 passengers and 2 of the Cabin Crew, most of them suffering from serious injuries. But 131 died, including all three Pilots, whose bodies were never found.
AP Movie News TAP crash aftermath
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It was the deadliest aircraft accident in Portuguese history until 1989 when 144 people died in the crash of an Independent Air Boeing 707 in the Azores.
After the 1977 accident, TAP stopped flying the Boeing 727-282 to Madeira, and started flying only their shorter Boeing 727-100 Series.
In 2000, the runway was again extended, this time to 2,780m built as a platform on stilts extending out over the sea.
FNC 1960's - clearly shows the stone bridge above the beach.
Madeira Tourist Trivia -
Tourism had boomed and Madeira has been on the tourist map for decades, and those visitors of yesteryear came, naturally by Ship, Cruise Liner, or on the Aquila Airways Flying Boat service from Southampton via Lisbon.
Famous past visitors include Sir Winston Churchill, who stayed at Reid’s Palace Hotel, and liked to visit (and repeatedly paint there) at Cāmara de Lobos, the pretty fishing village nearby, which provided something of an antidote to his “black dog days”.
George Bernard Shaw was another frequenter, along with Marconi and David Lloyd-George, all attracted by the “Green Pearl'' of the Atlantic’s year-round mild climate, spectacular and lush scenery, gorgeous flora, and friendly welcome.
Madeira was a stop on the Union Castle Lines Empire Mail route from Southampton to the Cape in the Union of South Africa, and onto Mombasa in East Africa.
It was one of the most important British Liner routes of all times, carrying passengers as well as cargo, including the all-important Mail.
It was a byword in travel – ‘every Thursday at 4’, as one of the big Union Castle liners set sail for Cape Town and beyond.
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town was built by the Line for their passengers to rest at after their long sea voyage.
But the island of Madeira's inaccessibility, which of course made it so exclusive, was a problem for Madeira’s government, which wanted both to increase visitor numbers and facilitate trade with Mother Country Portugal. So an Airport was built and opened in 1964 and was at first called Aeroporto de Santa Catarina.
Both Reid's Palace, and the Mount Nelson Hotel's are today owned by Belmond.