Originally Posted by
tireman77
I believe the 739ERs are intended to replace the 757s, but I may be wrong.
YUL has night restrictions for noise. From their website: "Note also that especially noisy aircraft cannot be granted exemptions for night flights; these include the Antonov, B727, B737 100 and 200 series, B747, DC9, DC10, Ilyushin, L101, MD 80 and MD-11." I agree with you that all US airport allow them. Most legacy carriers have hundreds of them so banning them would not be politically wise.
As for the 737 vs. MD80, all 3 major airlines in the US operate Next Gen 737s (700-800-900) that was first delivered in 1994. The last MD-80s were delivered in 1997 and were still based on the original upgrade from the DC-9 in 1980. For those reasons (and the jackscrew design flaw), I purposely avoid MD80s at all costs.
Regarding noise restrictions at YUL, please note this does not apply to MD80 series a/c retrofitted with Series IV hushkit noise attenuators which comply with the strictest noise restrictions currently in place.
As far as the vintage of the MD80 series, it is definitely at least a generation behind the most current iteration of the 737, but keep in mind that the MD80 series was not the last model in the DC9 series.
The final a/c built by McDonnell Douglas was the MD95, known as the 717 since Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell Douglas.
As its name implies, its a mid-nineties technology, but it's substantially more modern than the MD80 series, including full glass flight deck (a few MD90 series were delivered with glass cockpits) and modern turbofan jets.
As you know, DL also flies the 717. Also acquired second hand.
Finally, as far as the merits of the MD80 vs the 737 family, I'm not quite as categorical as you about it.
While it is indisputable that an MD80 is older than a late-vintage 737 (and keep in mind there are sill plenty of older 737's flying out there on US and WN), I do like the fact that there is one less middle seat in the economy cabin on an MD80 series vs the 737.
If I'm flying in the front cabin, the MD80 has the added advantage of being whisper quiet, since the engines are so far back (obviously, the converse is true for the pax sitting in the back of the bus).
In the end, to each his/her own.
If an a/c is properly maintained it's perfectly safe and as a customer I'm less concerned about the date the plane rolled off the assembly line than the flying experience on board. As others have noted, a well renovated interior with plenty of amenities such as WiFi, sat TV and AVOD can easily beat out a brand new "dark bird" for most passengers.