End of the Line for Various Aircraft

[TravelGal]

I thought the airplane geeks among you might find this article of interest. A gave the thread a generic title but this is about the end of the MD88/MD90 aircraft. Full article at June 4 Cranky Flier. Here's an excerpt [emphasis added].

So Long, Mad Dog

On Tuesday, the last of Delta’s McDonnell Douglas-branded aircraft gathered at the grandiosely-named Arkansas International Airport in Blytheville, not far from the Missouri and Tennessee borders. Despite its name, this former military base doesn’t see much international traffic… or any traffic for that matter. On occasion, there are bursts of activity, like this week when those Delta MD-88/MD-90 aircraft streamed in for retirement, one after the other. Most if not all of these aircraft will never fly again, instead being parted out by the experts at ART.

Delta was the last of the major airlines to operate these fleets, and that means this is a milestone that marks the end of the McDonnell Douglas name in commercial service except in the far corners of the aviation world. This aircraft, which began life more than 50 years ago as the DC-9, deserves a proper send-off after a remarkable run. Thanks to COVID-19, Delta wasn’t able to swing the kind of event that American put forth last year.

https://crankyflier.com/2020/06/04/so-long-mad-dog/


http://artmaintenance.com/storage-disassembly/

[opinionated ow]

Its a pity but the Boeing 717 is an MD-95 and there are plenty of them running around with Delta and Australia so the DC-9 still liveth

[nrc]

Good riddance. I always dreaded seeing a DC9 at the jetway. They always seemed so much more cramped and noisy than the 737s. Still, I used to hope for them when I flew into the small airport in Allentown PA regularly. The DC9 was the biggest thing that could land there. Probably some of the most dramatic landings I've had were pilots trying to get a DC9 stopped in Allentown.

But it was that or the old Short 360 commuter boxcar. Those commuter flights from Baltimore to Allentown made me swear off anything under 100 seats. :eek: We did end up on a smaller Embraer E-Jet recently and that wasn't too bad. I probably wouldn't go too far out of my way to avoid one for a short flight.

[datachicane]

Every single flight I've ever had on an Embraer E-Jet has resulted in my luggage failing to arrive with me, even with gate checks. I'm certain there's just not enough room for both luggage and passengers on those things.

[TravelGal]

NRC: You reminded me of landings in Parkersburg, W.Va. I can laugh at it now.

[SteveH]

Coincidentally my last flight at the beginning of a March was O’Hare to Allentown on an United CRJ 550, which was a pretty nice aircraft. Bought some Peeps at the airport since they are manufactured in Bethlehem, next door basically.

[opinionated ow]

When I was based in Adelaide, Virgin Australia used to run E-Jets on smaller routes like Adelaide-Melbourne or Melbourne-Launceston. More leg room than the 737 and no middle seats which was nice.

Flew a Skywest CRJ700 from Edmonton to San Francisco once. That felt tight.

[nrc]

Quantas will mothball its A380s and probably retire half of them. They'll also finish off retiring their 747s.

https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/qantas-retire-a380s


"It is likely we will have to wait for March 2021 before returning to monthly growth in passengers," Mulder posited, "however … we are not expecting passenger numbers to return to growth over 2019 figures until the second half of the 2023 financial year for domestic and international."

[SteveH]

Dirk Grothe | Aviation Photography (@digro65) Tweeted:
time to say good-bye... with the last @lufthansa A380 ferried from FRA to Teruel it was probably the last LH A380 flight ever since they will most likely not return into service again and the whole fleet of 14 A380 is now in storage...what a pity for such a great aircraft! https://t.co/d2Jp1PQxKN

[nrc]

The most expensive "mine is bigger" exercise in history.

[devilmaster]

The Airbus A380's life cycle is actually -shorter- than Offcamber. We have threads here talking about the announcement, building and testing of the 380.

[nissan gtp]

The Airbus A380's life cycle is actually -shorter- than Offcamber. We have threads here talking about the announcement, building and testing of the 380.


:rofl:

[nrc]

I guess I need to make a pitch to some Airbus bigwigs that OffCamber is the next big thing in air transportation. 100,000 of the 200,000 shares are available starting at $10 per share or buy the whole thing for two mil. We'll never make a dime but at least we won't lose millions. :gomer:

Speaking of losing money, I wonder how much airports spent on improvements to accommodate the thing. Who do you suppose paid for that?

[TravelGal]

I guess I need to make a pitch to some Airbus bigwigs that OffCamber is the next big thing in air transportation. 100,000 of the 200,000 shares are available starting at $10 per share or buy the whole thing for two mil. We'll never make a dime but at least we won't lose millions. :gomer:

Speaking of losing money, I wonder how much airports spent on improvements to accommodate the thing. Who do you suppose paid for that?

Depends on the airport, I'm sure. LAX Tom Bradley International was woefully, I say, woefully, in need of upgrading. They did it all at one time, accommodating the monsters and making a real terminal instead out of what felt like an underground bunker. Now they have space they don't need but it's good for the future. It was the beginning of massive 10-year upgrade of all terminals in preparation for the 2028 Olympics.

[TravelGal]

Part of a longer article on Emirates' increased flight frequency in today's ARTA newsletter. At least JFK is glad they upgraded.

Emirates is bringing back its double-decker A380 to more routes, including its New York-JFK to Milan's fifth-freedom route.

[SteveH]

Airbus A380: Where the superjumbo is flying as aviation returns (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/a380-where-to-fly-aviation-return-cmd/index.html)

It’s back!

[SteveH]

20 astonishing facts about the A380 superjumbo (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/airbus-a380-superjumbo-astonishing-facts/index.html)