scotbill, I was never a fan of any sort of flagellation, self inflicted or otherwise. But I know which aeroplanes the industry bought, and which were considered non-commercial untouchables.
You obviously love your Trident. Cuddle up to it by all means. But don't tell me I'm wrong to castigate it as the commercial failure it self-evidently was, and 727 self evidently wasn't.
Airliners are not produced to please those who fly them. They are produced to do a commercially successful job for those who buy them. You'd do well to reflect on that.
Where 3-hole airliners are concerned, the UK screwed up, the US hit pay dirt.