Originally Posted by mersk862

MD-88s have been regulars on ATL-TUS (1541 miles) and have made the appearances on ATL-PHX (1587 miles). Still, nothing compared to how AA uses their MD-80s - ORD to LAX (1745 mi), SAN (1723 mi), SFO (1846 mi), SEA (1721 mi) and STL to SAN (1555 mi), LAX (1590 mi) and SFO (1733 mi).

As for the -90s being out of SLC, the reason for hot and high is part of the reason (the -90s do have better performance during a high-altitude summer than the -80s, but it doesn't preclude -80s being used at these airports - AA uses them to DFW and ORD out of SLC year-round), but also their quietness. For some airports out west (SNA is probably the most well-known that's served by mainline jets, but I think SAN might have some restrictions as well), there are restrictions based on the noise footprint of the plane. The MD-90 is quite possibly the quietest plane I've ever been on, and has a substantially smaller noise footprint than the -80s. Helps out with some of those airports.




Delta had plans to have the MD-90 be the backbone of the domestic fleet in the early 1990s. They were going to be the replacement for quite a few of the 727s in the fleet (as well as 757s on the higher end, and Delta had a rather large order for 737-300s to replace 737s and for use on some smaller 727 routes). In the end, with the merger between MDD and Boeing, Delta canceled their MD-90s (allowing Boeing to close the MD-90 line) and went with the 737-800, which offered quite a bit more than the MD-90s.