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
Feb 19, 2017, 10:24 pm
#1
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
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Posts: 62,948
Jan 29, 2019, 8:15 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Ontario Canada
Programs: Air Canada 50K - Hilton Diamond - Marriott Platinum
Posts: 282
AA MD-80 requiem - final 2019 routes and 4 Sep 2019 final flights
Hey, i'm not a flyer of AA but this weekend i was suppose to get a first trip on a MD-83 back to Toronto but sadly got cancelled and was unable to get back direct for days on the MD-80 so i had to cut my losses and fly home Via MIA on a 737 and A319 but i am wondering if anyone here has some more info on what routes they fly that should be cheap for a quick trip out of Toronto. looking at the schedule for YYZ-DFW it ends on the 14th of February sadly. or should i just try and get a Delta MD-88 flight and not worry about the AA MD-83's seeing how there apparently very similar.
thanks
thanks
Jan 29, 2019, 9:44 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Chicago, IL
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Posts: 140
The number of routes that AA flies with the MD-80 is very slim at this point (they are all slated to retire this year).
If you like the airplane that much, I'd suggest flying Delta as they are soon to be the only of the major airlines to operate the type.
If you like the airplane that much, I'd suggest flying Delta as they are soon to be the only of the major airlines to operate the type.
Jan 29, 2019, 10:05 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 812
is a Mad Dog for the MD-80 on one daily flight each direction. Typically last out of DFW and first out of DSM next day. Find the right date and you should be able to get a pretty cheap price, DSM is not a high demand airport.
Last edited by shimps1; Dec 7, 2019 at 10:55 pm
Jan 29, 2019, 11:21 pm
#5
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: CMH
Programs: BA Gold, AA Plat, NK $9 fare club
Posts: 666
Still using them CMH-DFW. I go out of my way to book them. Great recline and 3 windows to myself in 6F. They are only 1 frequency each way now, sadly. Does anybody know precisely when they will completely discontinue the flights?
Jan 30, 2019, 12:21 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: CA
Posts: 304
AA 1492! I flew that route on a reduced miles saver economy award with a friend, we both got upgraded to first. Quite possibly the best use of AA miles domestically for me so far.
Jan 30, 2019, 4:44 am
#8
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
Rumor (from airliners.net) is that the last flights will be at the end of summer, which makes sense. However, AA has not posted the final routes. I believe that as of now all flights are out of DFW and do not touch another AA hub.
Jan 30, 2019, 5:34 am
#9
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SLC
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Plat
Posts: 616
Flew two weeks ago MCI-DFW in MD80 in F. SO much more comfortable than the 737 MAX in F I flew Sunday night DFW to SLC.
The MD80 will be greatly missed. It is so much more pleasant to fly over the new 737 MAX, both in F or Y.
The MD80 will be greatly missed. It is so much more pleasant to fly over the new 737 MAX, both in F or Y.
Jan 30, 2019, 7:39 am
#12
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 313
Hi all,
I thought I'd pop in with the actual numbers, in case anyone is interested. Unfortunately, this is hard to pin down because the numbers will be decreasing over the coming months and may change, but here's what I'm seeing for AA MD80 operations:
First of all, here are the total flights per month:
This surprises me, because I thought for sure I'd heard that the last flights would be in September. I'm wondering if there are some schedule update issues that we're seeing here.
Secondly, here's a simple pivot table showing how many daily flights (each way) each of the remaining MD-80 destination will get per month, all from DFW:
Hope this helps you all in your MD-80 trip planning!
I thought I'd pop in with the actual numbers, in case anyone is interested. Unfortunately, this is hard to pin down because the numbers will be decreasing over the coming months and may change, but here's what I'm seeing for AA MD80 operations:
First of all, here are the total flights per month:
This surprises me, because I thought for sure I'd heard that the last flights would be in September. I'm wondering if there are some schedule update issues that we're seeing here.
Secondly, here's a simple pivot table showing how many daily flights (each way) each of the remaining MD-80 destination will get per month, all from DFW:
Hope this helps you all in your MD-80 trip planning!
Jan 30, 2019, 8:42 am
#13
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Join Date: Sep 2006
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Posts: 13,913
From Airliners.net there's speculation those Oct-Dec flights to/from MFE and VPS are a placeholder for now. Seems strange AA would hold onto a couple of a/c for flights to two destination for that 3 month period.
Jan 30, 2019, 9:38 am
#15
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA- EXP UA - Silver SPG- PLT Marriott- PLT
Posts: 759
I really want to be on the last flight - when do you think we'll know what it is?
I wouldn't even mind sitting in 20D. That was my seat for many years before I was EXP.
I wouldn't even mind sitting in 20D. That was my seat for many years before I was EXP.