Jun 25, 2019, 10:38 am
Last edit by: JDiver
AA McDonnell Douglas MD-80 “Super 80” (1983-2019)
“The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of twin-engine, short- to medium-range, single-aisle commercial jetliners. It was lengthened and updated from the DC-9. This series can seat from 130 to 172 passengers depending on variant and seating configuration.
American Airlines was the first US major carrier to order the MD-80 when it leased twenty 142-seat aircraft from McDonnell Douglas in October 1982 to replace its Boeing 727-100. It committed to 67 firm orders plus 100 options in March 1984, and in 2002 its fleet peaked at more than 360 aircraft, 30 % of the 1,191 produced.” AA used the “Super 80” name for this aircraft.
The first AA MD-80 was delivered in 1983, the last in 1999. (Wikipedia) The MD-80 was delivered with a standard tapered round fuselage tail cone, but it was found a “screwdriver” design somewhat similar to the Boeing 777 saved fuel. The “screwdriver” tail cone was applied to all AA MD-80s, and were fabricated by AA maintenance personnel at the Tulsa shop.
The last “Super 80s” operated by AA were TWA MD-83s built toward the end of the manufacturing run. “Their cockpits have digital engine instruments and dual flight management system (FMS) displays versus AA’s traditional ‘round dial’ presentation and lone GFMS keypad. The TWA computers’ formats and functionality are different from those of the single units—the Mac versus PC of the MD-80 world.” (Airways Magazine)
The last 23 “Mad Dogs” flew to a desert air park in Roswell, New Mexico, on 4 Sep 2019. One MD-80 remains at DFW Airport, to be used for future de-icing practice, and more will be donated to flight-training schools. (Bloomberg)
N984TW, a MD-83 assembled in 1999 (MSN 53634 / LN 2287), was the last MD-80 built (at the McDonnell Douglas plant at Long Beach / LGB, California, and was the last to be retired, flying AA 80 DFW-ORD before flying its final segment ORD-ROS. This aircraft is said to have “logged more than 61,000 hours in the air on 31,092 flights and is estimated to have carried more than 3.5 million passengers”.
Though wingtip devices and higher bypass ratio engines were proposed to create an “MD-80 Advanced”, there was never sufficient interest from the airlines to proceed with these advances. The 737’s GE CFM-56 engines offer 35% additional fuel savings per seat mile over the MD-80. An expensive to fulfill 2017 Airworthiness Directive governing the fuel pump system drove the nails into the coffin.
According to Airways Magazine,
“... the Chicago, St. Louis, and Los Angeles crew domiciles (closed, and) DFW will be the aircraft’s final hub because of its maintenance capabilities and proximity to Tulsa’s repair and overhaul station... The aircraft’s tenure will conclude in the way it started. Memphis, Houston, Kansas City, New Orleans, and other current MD-80 destinations mostly lay within a 500-mile radius of Dallas.”
The AA MD-80s were retired to ROW / Roswell International Air Center, Roswell, New Mexico (previously Walker Air Force Base / WAFB).
American Airlines MD-80s in their final 140 seat configuration:
16 First class seats, 38-40” pitch, 21” width (rows 3-6, the seats on the port / left side had slightly less seat pitch than the starboard side due to removal of a closet to install an extra seat pair.
35 Main Cabin Extra seats with 34” pitch, 17.4 - 17.8” width in 2 x 3 configuration in rows 7-11 and exit rows.
89 Main Cabin seats with 31” pitch, 17.4 - 17.8” width in 2 x 3 configuration.
The A-B overhead bins were small, and couldn’t accommodate rollaboards wheels first; these had to be stowed in the D-E-F side bins. MD-80 we’re equipped with full service galleys, WiFi, center overhead screens for IFE, cigar lighter type jacks providing 15 VDC. Onboard WiFi IFE streaming to passengers’ personal entertainment devices was added.
Many consider the MD-80 seats some of the most comfortable, as they were better padded than the newer generation of lightweight seats. The cabin was relatively quiet, with the air noise completely masking any engine noise in First. On the other hand, the offset rows 31 and 32 were very close to the aft-mounted engines and engine noise was very loud.
“McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (DC-9-83)
The MD-83 is a longer-range version of the basic MD-81/82 with higher weights, more powerful engines, and increased fuel capacity.
Powerplant: Compared to earlier models, the MD-83 is equipped with slightly more powerful 21,000 lbf (93 kN)-thrust Pratt and Whitney JT8D-219s as standard.
Performance: The MD-83 features increased fuel capacity as standard (to 6,970 US gal (26,400 L)), which is carried in two 565 US gal (2,140 L) auxiliary tanks located fore and aft of the center section. The aircraft also has higher operating weights, with MTOW increased to 160,000 lb (73,000 kg) and MLW to 139,500 lb (63,300 kg).
Typical range for the MD-83 with 155 passengers is around 2,504 nautical miles (4,637 km). To cope with the higher operating weights, the MD-83 incorporates strengthened landing gear including new wheels, tires, and brakes, changes to the wing skins, front spar web and elevator spar cap, and strengthened floor beams and panels to carry the auxiliary fuel tanks.” - (Wikipedia)
The scheduled final operations for these aircraft is shown in posts #1, #76, #166.
FlyerTalk threads:
MD-80 / Super 80 best seats (master thread)
The slow end of an era....the retirement of the AA MD-80
20 Mad Dogs / MD-80 (retiring) to ROW today (23 Aug 2016)
MD-80 “Super 80” aka “Mad Dog” memories, “longest goodbye”
Age of AAs MD-80 fleet?
External resources:
Link to MD-80 article in Airways Magazine, Nov 2015 issue
Link to (unofficial) AA Fleet Site retired MD-80 page
Link to Wikipedia MD-80 page
“The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of twin-engine, short- to medium-range, single-aisle commercial jetliners. It was lengthened and updated from the DC-9. This series can seat from 130 to 172 passengers depending on variant and seating configuration.
American Airlines was the first US major carrier to order the MD-80 when it leased twenty 142-seat aircraft from McDonnell Douglas in October 1982 to replace its Boeing 727-100. It committed to 67 firm orders plus 100 options in March 1984, and in 2002 its fleet peaked at more than 360 aircraft, 30 % of the 1,191 produced.” AA used the “Super 80” name for this aircraft.
The first AA MD-80 was delivered in 1983, the last in 1999. (Wikipedia) The MD-80 was delivered with a standard tapered round fuselage tail cone, but it was found a “screwdriver” design somewhat similar to the Boeing 777 saved fuel. The “screwdriver” tail cone was applied to all AA MD-80s, and were fabricated by AA maintenance personnel at the Tulsa shop.
The last “Super 80s” operated by AA were TWA MD-83s built toward the end of the manufacturing run. “Their cockpits have digital engine instruments and dual flight management system (FMS) displays versus AA’s traditional ‘round dial’ presentation and lone GFMS keypad. The TWA computers’ formats and functionality are different from those of the single units—the Mac versus PC of the MD-80 world.” (Airways Magazine)
The last 23 “Mad Dogs” flew to a desert air park in Roswell, New Mexico, on 4 Sep 2019. One MD-80 remains at DFW Airport, to be used for future de-icing practice, and more will be donated to flight-training schools. (Bloomberg)
N984TW, a MD-83 assembled in 1999 (MSN 53634 / LN 2287), was the last MD-80 built (at the McDonnell Douglas plant at Long Beach / LGB, California, and was the last to be retired, flying AA 80 DFW-ORD before flying its final segment ORD-ROS. This aircraft is said to have “logged more than 61,000 hours in the air on 31,092 flights and is estimated to have carried more than 3.5 million passengers”.
Though wingtip devices and higher bypass ratio engines were proposed to create an “MD-80 Advanced”, there was never sufficient interest from the airlines to proceed with these advances. The 737’s GE CFM-56 engines offer 35% additional fuel savings per seat mile over the MD-80. An expensive to fulfill 2017 Airworthiness Directive governing the fuel pump system drove the nails into the coffin.
According to Airways Magazine,
“... the Chicago, St. Louis, and Los Angeles crew domiciles (closed, and) DFW will be the aircraft’s final hub because of its maintenance capabilities and proximity to Tulsa’s repair and overhaul station... The aircraft’s tenure will conclude in the way it started. Memphis, Houston, Kansas City, New Orleans, and other current MD-80 destinations mostly lay within a 500-mile radius of Dallas.”
The AA MD-80s were retired to ROW / Roswell International Air Center, Roswell, New Mexico (previously Walker Air Force Base / WAFB).
American Airlines MD-80s in their final 140 seat configuration:
16 First class seats, 38-40” pitch, 21” width (rows 3-6, the seats on the port / left side had slightly less seat pitch than the starboard side due to removal of a closet to install an extra seat pair.
35 Main Cabin Extra seats with 34” pitch, 17.4 - 17.8” width in 2 x 3 configuration in rows 7-11 and exit rows.
89 Main Cabin seats with 31” pitch, 17.4 - 17.8” width in 2 x 3 configuration.
The A-B overhead bins were small, and couldn’t accommodate rollaboards wheels first; these had to be stowed in the D-E-F side bins. MD-80 we’re equipped with full service galleys, WiFi, center overhead screens for IFE, cigar lighter type jacks providing 15 VDC. Onboard WiFi IFE streaming to passengers’ personal entertainment devices was added.
Many consider the MD-80 seats some of the most comfortable, as they were better padded than the newer generation of lightweight seats. The cabin was relatively quiet, with the air noise completely masking any engine noise in First. On the other hand, the offset rows 31 and 32 were very close to the aft-mounted engines and engine noise was very loud.
“McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (DC-9-83)
The MD-83 is a longer-range version of the basic MD-81/82 with higher weights, more powerful engines, and increased fuel capacity.
Powerplant: Compared to earlier models, the MD-83 is equipped with slightly more powerful 21,000 lbf (93 kN)-thrust Pratt and Whitney JT8D-219s as standard.
Performance: The MD-83 features increased fuel capacity as standard (to 6,970 US gal (26,400 L)), which is carried in two 565 US gal (2,140 L) auxiliary tanks located fore and aft of the center section. The aircraft also has higher operating weights, with MTOW increased to 160,000 lb (73,000 kg) and MLW to 139,500 lb (63,300 kg).
Typical range for the MD-83 with 155 passengers is around 2,504 nautical miles (4,637 km). To cope with the higher operating weights, the MD-83 incorporates strengthened landing gear including new wheels, tires, and brakes, changes to the wing skins, front spar web and elevator spar cap, and strengthened floor beams and panels to carry the auxiliary fuel tanks.” - (Wikipedia)
The scheduled final operations for these aircraft is shown in posts #1, #76, #166.
FlyerTalk threads:
MD-80 / Super 80 best seats (master thread)
The slow end of an era....the retirement of the AA MD-80
20 Mad Dogs / MD-80 (retiring) to ROW today (23 Aug 2016)
MD-80 “Super 80” aka “Mad Dog” memories, “longest goodbye”
Age of AAs MD-80 fleet?
External resources:
Link to MD-80 article in Airways Magazine, Nov 2015 issue
Link to (unofficial) AA Fleet Site retired MD-80 page
Link to Wikipedia MD-80 page
AA MD-80 requiem - final 2019 routes and 4 Sep 2019 final flights
Jul 14, 2019, 3:39 pm
#121
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: OKC
Programs: IHG Spire, National Exec, AA Plat
Posts: 2,274
I just cancelled a First Class award containing Sept 3-4 flights from DFW-CVG on the MD80 (flights 2309/2500) if that helps anyone. Really wanted to be on one of the last flights on the Mad Dog, but life happens! Will drink a toast of that awful wine (MD20/20) on the 4th. Hope everyone enjoys their ride!
If I could find that one, I'd strongly consider positioning to CVG the night before to get on that.
Jul 14, 2019, 11:48 pm
#124
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: American Ex Plat, Avis Presidents, Hertz - Preidents Circle, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 176
I had a quick discussion with the pilots from my flight today. One is retiring and the the other will get certified on another plane. Just one more flight for me. I have flown this plane for my entire working career that started in 1985. I guess it is time for me to retire too.
Jul 18, 2019, 2:26 pm
#125
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 398
Just hopped off my second to last flight on an AA MD80. I hadn’t flown on one for a while, so it definitely brought back memories of flying AA in the “good old days”.
I was in MCE coach, but nevertheless the seat felt like it had as much legroom, cushioning, and recline as the first class seats on the most recent AA domestic planes. But mostly the feel of the comfy seat reminded me of the good experiences with AA that led me to sticking with them for decades. If you look at my post history you’ll see multiple threads I started praising AA and its staff for going above and beyond. I think my very first post concerned arriving at DFW for a tight connection as a no status coach passenger, and being met at the aircraft exit to be driven across the tarmac to my connecting aircraft (on an MD80, naturally!)
It it makes me feel bittersweet that the days of the MD80 are ending, perhaps symbolic of the fact that the days of exceptional, loyalty winning performance by AA seem to be long gone.
Anyway, I’ll be sad to see the last of the mad dogs.
Saunders111
I was in MCE coach, but nevertheless the seat felt like it had as much legroom, cushioning, and recline as the first class seats on the most recent AA domestic planes. But mostly the feel of the comfy seat reminded me of the good experiences with AA that led me to sticking with them for decades. If you look at my post history you’ll see multiple threads I started praising AA and its staff for going above and beyond. I think my very first post concerned arriving at DFW for a tight connection as a no status coach passenger, and being met at the aircraft exit to be driven across the tarmac to my connecting aircraft (on an MD80, naturally!)
It it makes me feel bittersweet that the days of the MD80 are ending, perhaps symbolic of the fact that the days of exceptional, loyalty winning performance by AA seem to be long gone.
Anyway, I’ll be sad to see the last of the mad dogs.
Saunders111
Jul 18, 2019, 2:36 pm
#127
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin
Programs: AA EXP +2MM- LT PLT! HH Diamond
Posts: 6,087
Jul 18, 2019, 2:37 pm
#128
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,285
Jul 18, 2019, 2:44 pm
#129
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin
Programs: AA EXP +2MM- LT PLT! HH Diamond
Posts: 6,087
Multiple reasons given up thread already. Pilots already scheduled for other flights, retiring etc. Expensive C checks might be required. Clearly AA wasn't planning on the MAX issues and the resulting impacts and it seems too complicated to just continue flying these planes once the plans were put in motion. Too bad for AA and their pax. UA is actually buying some used 737's to reduce the impact to capacity while they wait out the MAX delays.
Last edited by teemuflyer; Jul 18, 2019 at 2:52 pm
Jul 19, 2019, 7:33 am
#130
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 314
This won't be of much use beyond curiosity to most here, but with all the talk of AA's last MD-80 flight, some might find it interesting. AA has decided to allow employees to take part in the ferry flight of the final frame from DFW to ROW on 4 September. They've opened up a lottery to randomly choose 120 employees to come along for the ride. They're planning quite a to-do in relation to all of it, including a free lunch in Dallas before leaving and dinner in Roswell when they get there. Should be a fun way to celebrate the end of an era, and a nice opportunity for employees, many of whom would like to be on the final revenue flight but won't be able to.
Jul 19, 2019, 11:56 am
#131
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Wanting First. Buying First.
Programs: Lifetime Executive Diamond Platinum VIP with Braniff, Eastern, Midway, National & Pan Am
Posts: 17,492
Anyone find it oddly fascinating the AA is running a non standard flight number for the STL-DFW flight on the 4th AA flight 1999..... which is isn't any of the normally flight numbers/ could it be that AA is honoring legacy of TWA, by having that flight be flight 1999 which was the year last MD was delivered to TWA of course.... maybe it would be cool.
Jul 19, 2019, 12:15 pm
#132
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Austin, TX - AUS
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Posts: 1,625