Boeing 720

Updated: October 2026 – At first glance a Boeing 707: four individually mounted engines, a heavily swept wing, a pointed nose, the antenna spike at the top of the vertical stabilizer. But the fuselage looks a touch stockier, there is only one emergency exit per side over the wing, and the wing root at the fuselage is strikingly thick. That is the Boeing 720, the medium-haul derivative of the 707. United put it into scheduled service in 1960, Lufthansa flew it from 1961, and as a flying engine test bed it stayed in the air until 2010. Here you will learn what makes the 720 what it is, who flew it and where you can still find it today.

What is the Boeing 720?

The 720 is a shortened and lighter version of the 707-120, built for medium-haul routes and shorter runways. Boeing introduced the project in July 1957 to offer airlines a jet for domestic routes where the full range of the 707 was not needed. The technical basis was the 707, which in turn goes back to the 367-80 jet prototype, the famous “Dash 80.”

Internally the project ran at first as the 707-020, then briefly as the 717-020. Launch customer United Airlines wanted a name of its own, though, so it became the Boeing 720. That also fit the marketing: anyone flying the 720 was not sitting in a “small 707” but in a model of its own.

Technically the relationship stayed close. Fuselage cross-section, cockpit and engine arrangement match the 707-120. Boeing saved mainly on weight: lighter forgings, thinner fuselage skin, a lower maximum takeoff weight. The first flight took place on November 23, 1959, and the US aviation authority, the FAA, granted certification on June 30, 1960. You can read more about the family on the pages about the Boeing 707-120 and in the article The history of the Boeing 707; the page about Boeing introduces the manufacturer itself.

What Boeing changed compared with the 707

The differences from the 707-120 are small but decisive for spotters, because they are exactly what separates the two types in a photo.

In the cabin, about 131 to 137 passengers fit in two classes, up to 156 in an all-economy layout. The range of the original 720 with 131 passengers was about 5,200 kilometers – more than enough for American domestic routes.

720 and 720B: turbojet versus turbofan

As with the 707, the step from the loud turbojet to the more economical turbofan came quickly on the 720. The original 720 flew with four Pratt & Whitney JT3C-7s. The 720B received the JT3D, one of the first turbofan engines in airliner use. It first flew on October 6, 1960 and entered service with American Airlines in March 1961. You will find more about the engine manufacturer on the page about Pratt & Whitney.

Feature	Boeing 720	Boeing 720B
Engines	4 × JT3C-7 (turbojet)	4 × JT3D (turbofan)
First flight	November 23, 1959	October 6, 1960
First operator	United Airlines (July 1960)	American Airlines (March 1961)
Max. takeoff weight	lower depending on version	about 106 t
Range	about 5,200 km with 131 passengers	about 5,900 km with 156 passengers
Engine nacelles	long and slim	shorter and fatter, large inlet
Built	65	89 (plus 10 conversions at American)

From the outside the nacelle shape gives it away fastest: the slim JT3C tubes look almost like cigars, while the JT3D nacelles have a visibly larger inlet and a short outer cowl for the bypass flow. How to tell engine types apart in general is explained in the article How to recognize engines.

The operators: from United to Lufthansa

The 720 was not a mass-market product. Against competition from the Convair CV-880, which addressed a similar market segment, and shortly after the three-engine Boeing 727-100, it had a hard time. It still flew with a whole range of well-known airlines.

United Airlines was the launch customer and took delivery of a total of 29 aircraft between 1960 and 1962. The first scheduled flight on July 5, 1960 went from Los Angeles via Denver to Chicago. American Airlines received ten 720s in 1960 and fifteen 720Bs in 1961 and later had the older aircraft converted to B standard. Eastern Air Lines operated fifteen 720s, Braniff five.

The biggest customer for the turbofan version was Western Airlines: between 1961 and 1967 the Los Angeles airline took 27 Boeing 720Bs. Other launch customers of the 720B were Northwest Airlines with 13 and Continental Airlines with eight aircraft. Pan Am flew nine 720Bs from 1963 to 1974, mainly to the Caribbean and South America – more on the airline in Pan Am – the rise and fall of a legend.

Internationally, Aer Lingus, Pakistan International Airlines, Avianca and Ethiopian Airlines, among others, bought new 720s. For Avianca the 720B was the first jet aircraft of a Colombian airline.

Lufthansa and the 720B

For spotters from Germany the Lufthansa episode is especially exciting. Lufthansa ordered eight 720Bs; the first aircraft, with the registration D-ABOG, arrived on March 17, 1961, the last, D-ABOR, in February 1962. The aircraft flew on the entire long-haul network, that is, to all five continents, often with many stopovers. Lufthansa lost two aircraft on training flights. From March 1964 the airline took the remaining six out of service; by February 1966 all had gone to Pan Am. Today Lufthansa is part of the Lufthansa Group, and the 720B era there is long history.

Operator	Variant	Number (initial delivery)	Delivery period
United Airlines	720	29	1960–1962
American Airlines	720 / 720B	10 + 15	1960–1961
Eastern Air Lines	720	15	1961–1962
Western Airlines	720B	27	1961–1967
Northwest Airlines	720B	13	1961–1964
Continental Airlines	720B	8	1962–1966
Lufthansa	720B	8	1961–1962
Aer Lingus	720	3	1960–1961

A second career in Europe

When US airlines swapped their 720s for newer types from the late 1960s, many aircraft found new owners. Olympic Airways took seven 720Bs in 1972 and 1973, and Air Malta flew five aircraft from 1974 to 1988. The Danish Maersk Air and Britain’s Monarch Airlines also used the 720B on charter flights, Maersk Air until 1987. The type was also in use with Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines.

The charter years in particular made the 720 a visitor at European leisure airports. Many photos from this period show it in the colors that are considered classics today – you will find inspiration in the legendary airline liveries.

Flying test bed: the 720 as a test aircraft

The 720 had its longest career not in passenger service but as an engine test aircraft. The short, light four-engine jet had room to mount an additional engine under the wing, on the fuselage or in the nose while the remaining engines kept the aircraft safely in the air.

The best-known example is C-FETB of Pratt & Whitney Canada. It was built in October 1960 as a 720-023B with the registration N7538A. It flew for American Airlines until 1971 and then for Middle East Airlines until 1985. In December 1985 Pratt & Whitney Canada bought the aircraft and, between October 1986 and January 1988, extensively converted it into a flying test bed. Depending on the test program, the aircraft could carry a large turbofan in place of the right inboard engine, a small turbofan on the side of the forward fuselage or a turboprop installation in a modified nose.

C-FETB completed its last test flight at the end of September 2010, and its role was taken over by a Boeing 747SP. On May 9, 2012 the 720 flew one last time: from Saint-Hubert near Montreal to the Trenton military base in Ontario. That ended the type’s flying career. Since then the aircraft has stood in the National Air Force Museum of Canada on loan from the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

Honeywell also used a 720B with an additional engine nacelle as a test aircraft in Phoenix. It was the last 720 operated in the US and was scrapped in 2008, replaced by a Boeing 757. If you are interested in test aircraft and their striking add-ons, you will find what you are looking for in the article House liveries and test aircraft of Airbus, Boeing and Embraer.

The deliberate crash of 1984

A 720 played a particularly unusual role in 1984. In the Controlled Impact Demonstration by the FAA and NASA, a remote-controlled 720 was deliberately crashed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The tests examined the stresses in an impact and a fuel additive against post-crash fires. It is considered the first four-engine jet to be flown successfully by remote control.

The “Starship” and other stories

The very first 720, N7201U, flew after its time with United as a private charter jet for musicians. Under the name “The Starship” it became known in the 1970s above all through Led Zeppelin tours. Instead of full rows of seats there were only about 40 places, a bar with a built-in electric organ, TVs with a video system and, in the rear section, a lounge and a bedroom with a shower.

The story also includes accidents. In total the statistics count 23 hull losses of 720s, including nine hijackings and a bombing of a Middle East Airlines aircraft in 1976. Among the best known is the crash of Northwest Flight 705 in February 1963 over the Everglades in Florida, caused by a loss of control in severe turbulence.

Boeing 720, 707-120 or Convair 880?

Among the early four-engine jets, the 720 is one of the hardest identifications, because it differs from its siblings only in details.

Feature	Boeing 720	Boeing 707-120	Convair CV-880
ICAO type designator	B720	B701	see type page
Length	about 41.5 m	44.22 m	shorter, slim fuselage
Overwing exits per side	1	2	–
Antenna spike on the fin	yes	yes	no
Fuselage cross-section	707 fuselage, six seats per row	707 fuselage, six seats per row	narrower, five seats per row

You will find detailed data on the Convair on the page about the Convair CV-880 and the related CV-990 Coronado. How to check such features systematically is explained in Aircraft type recognition for beginners.

Where you can see the Boeing 720 today

Nowhere in flying condition anymore. No 720 has flown since the ferry flight of C-FETB in May 2012. If you want to see the type, you plan a museum trip – and it leads far away from German-speaking countries.

Place	What you see	Note
National Air Force Museum of Canada, Trenton (Ontario)	720-023B C-FETB, last flying example	RCAF Memorial Airpark, on loan from the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson	Cockpit section of the 720-047B N110DS, formerly Western Airlines	converted into a children’s flight simulator
Kangshan, Taiwan	720-051B “Chung Mei,” former VIP aircraft of the air force	on display
PIA Planetarium, Lahore and Karachi	one 720-047B each (AP-AXL and AP-AXM)	part of planetariums
Children’s museum Bogotá	720-030B HK-749, first jet of a Colombian airline	on display

The Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson is worth a visit for any fan of old airliners anyway; the cockpit of the Western 720 is one detail among many there. On site, the page How to recognize vintage aircraft in the sky helps you quickly place classics, even in exhibitions.

Spotting tips: hunting the 720 on purpose

A 720 at the fence is out of the question. Planning pays off all the more if you want to add the type to your collection.

For outdoor exhibits like C-FETB in Trenton, the guide Planning sun position for your photo spot helps you, and which focal length suits what is covered in Lens and focal length for plane spotting. Spotting rare aircraft collects more ideas for hunting rarities.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The Boeing 720 is the often overlooked little sister of the 707: shorter, lighter, with a reworked wing and optimized for medium-haul routes. With only 154 built it was never a bestseller, but it flew with United, Western, American, Eastern and Lufthansa and afterward had a long second career with charter airlines and as a flying test bed. With the last flight of C-FETB in 2012, that story ended. For spotters the 720 remains a type for trip planning and for a trained eye for details.