Building on the success of the 707, the Boeing 727 entered commercial service on February 1st, 1964 with Eastern Air Lines. Nearly 1,900 units were produced between 1963 and 1984, when it was replaced by newer models of the Boeing 737 and the all-new 757.

Over the years, passenger airlines began to retire their Boeing 727s from service, to be replaced by more modern aircraft. This meant that several Boeing 727s became available for use, with cargo airlines keen to incorporate the workhorse into their fleets.

At the time of publication, around 15 Boeing 727-200s are part of cargo airlines worldwide. Latin America is one of the few markets where the 727s still operate, in three different airlines, all of them cargo carriers.

Air Class

Air Class Cargo is a Uruguayan airline based at Montevideo Airport (MVD/SUMU) in Uruguay. Its fleet consists of two Boeing 727-200(F) and three Metro 23 aircraft, flying to Buenos Aires (EZE/SAEZ) and Asunción (ASU/SGAS), in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively, as well as operating special flights for musical bands to transport all their equipment for their shows.

The Uruguayan airline added its first Boeing 727(F) in April 2011, during its first fleet expansion, as it had been operating with Metro and Embraer 110 Brasilia aircraft. This 727 has the registration CX-CAR and continues to fly for Air Class.

In October 2015, the second aircraft was acquired, which was registered as CX-CLB. Following just over a year flying for Air Class, the 727 was retired in January 2017 and incorporated by Aerosucre, a well-known South American airline due to its particular operations.

Air Class operated solely with the Boeing 727-214(Adv)(F) registration CX-CAR until October 2022, when it confirmed the addition of another Boeing 727 freighter. In this case, it came from Sideral, a Brazilian cargo airline that was retiring these aircraft from regular service.

This aircraft was part of Sideral, although it previously belonged to Rio Linhas Aéreas, another Brazilian cargo carrier to which Sideral had leased its aircraft prior to ceasing operations.

Fleet

Aerosucre

The world-famous Colombian airline Aerosucre Líneas Aéreas (A4/KRE) inducted its first Boeing 727 in March 1992, a Boeing 727-100 configured for passenger operations but used for cargo transport. HK-1717 and HK-727 were the registration numbers of Aerosucre’s two Boeing 727-100s, being retired in 2015 after more than 50 years of service.

Aerosucre currently has two Boeing 727-200(Adv)(F) aircraft, with registration numbers HK-5216 and HK-5239. Bogotá’s El Dorado Airport (BOG/SKBO) is the main base for these aircraft, with Arauca, Barquisimeto, Barranquilla, Cali, Caracas, Las Piedras, Medellín, Puerto Carreño, and Willemstad as some of its destinations.

The Boeing 727-227(Adv)(F), registry HK-5216, has serial number 21996 and made its first flight on January 12th, 1980. It was converted to a freighter in 2003, following 23 years of passenger airline operations, serving Braniff, USAir, and American Trans Air.

Air Class, then Aerosucre

In 2002, the aircraft was incorporated by DHL, starting cargo operations on January 31st, 2003. It was part of the DHL Group until 2015, flying for DHL Aviation in Europe until September 2009, arriving in South America for the first time in October 2009 with Vensecar Internacional, a Venezuelan cargo airline subsidiary of DHL Aviation.

On May 21st, 2015, one month after being retired from Vensecar Internacional, this Boeing 727 joined Air Class Cargo, the Uruguayan cargo airline. It received the Uruguayan registration CX-CLB and operated in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay until February 2017, when it joined Aerosucre with the registration number HK-5216.

Aerosucre plans to replace its two 45-year-old Boeing 727s with other Boeing 737s. According to our database, the average age of the Aerosucre fleet is around 40 years, with the Boeing 737-400(F) being its newest aircraft, which are 32 to 33 years old.

Fleet

Solar Cargo

Solar Cargo is a Venezuelan airline founded in February 2001 and based at Maiquetía International Airport (CCS/SVMI), located north of Caracas. Operations began shortly thereafter with three Antonov An-26 aircraft, flying mainly between Venezuela and the United States.

As a result of the pandemic and the severe economic crisis in Venezuela, Solar Cargo ceased operations in 2020, although it had not had any operational aircraft for quite a while, as the Antonov An-26s had been withdrawn in 2013, and its DC-10-30F, incorporated in 2012, was not longer in service.

In 2024, Estelar Latinoamérica, a Venezuelan passenger airline, acquired Solar Cargo, resuming operations on May 10th, 2025, using a Boeing 727.

The aircraft in question is a 43-year-old Boeing 727-2X3(Adv)(F), currently registered as YV665T, which previously operated for Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas, another South American cargo airline. Caracas remains as Solar Cargo’s base, operating flights within Venezuela and to Colombia and the Caribbean.

Fleet

Solar Cargo plans to add a second Boeing 727 to its fleet shortly.

UniWorld

On May 30th, 2025, UniWorld Air Cargo (U7/UCG), a Panamanian cargo airline operating in Aruba, Colombia, Curaçao, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, and Venezuela, retired its last Boeing 727-200, which was registered HP-1939UCG and had been incorporated in May 2023.

This aircraft started flying in October 1981 with Eastern Air Lines, under registration number N815EA, being converted into a freighter in October 2004 after joining Capital Cargo International Airlines, a US cargo airline that ceased services in September 2019.

As you can see in our database, on May 30th, 2025 at 10:52 local time, it departed from Tocumen International Airport in Panama City bound for Havana, and later that day to Saltillo, a Mexican city in the north of the country. Since then, the aircraft has been parked there.

At the time of publication, Air Class Líneas Aéreas, Aerosucre, and Solar Cargo are the Latin American airlines operating Boeing 727s on cargo flights, with these being the main routes flown, as per our data.

Routes

The Boeing 727 was one of the main narrow-body aircraft operated in South America, as well as in Central America and the Caribbean.

In terms of passenger aircraft, Aero Continente, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aerosur, Avensa, Avianca, Cruzeiro do Sul, Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano, LAN Chile, Mexicana de Aviación, Pluna, Servivensa, TAESA, TAME, Total Linhas Aéreas, VARIG, VASP, and Viasa were some of the main historical Latin American operators of the Boeing 727.

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To track Boeing 727s on Flightradar

• CX-CAR · Boeing 727-214(Adv)(F) · Air Class
• CX-CLC · Boeing 727-264(Adv)(F) · Air Class
• HK-5216 · Boeing 727-227(Adv)(F) · Aerosucre
• HK-5239 · Boeing 727-223(Adv)(F) · Aerosucre
• YV665T · Boeing 727-2X3(Adv)(F) · Solar Cargo

Cover photo: © Ezequiel Arpajou – JetPhotos (Montevideo Carrasco International Airport, Uruguay)