Where to catch the MD-88 and MD-90 from the Pacific Northwest?
Jun 15, 2019, 3:23 pm
#16
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Since the MD-88 isn't generally rated to fly out of SLC it will be hard to find them.
The MD-88 is my favorite of the routine domestic fleet. And I can't even notice that they are flying fewer of them lately. I have been on 12 of them in the last three weeks.
The MD-88 is my favorite of the routine domestic fleet. And I can't even notice that they are flying fewer of them lately. I have been on 12 of them in the last three weeks.
Jun 15, 2019, 3:23 pm
#17
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If you can get a reasonably priced flight to BWI (usually the cheapest airport in the DC region), ATL-BWI has both MD88 and MD90 back and forth for most flights. Many frequencies on the route, too.
Jun 15, 2019, 4:48 pm
#18
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As the dispatch reliability gets worse on these aging aircraft, they’re staying closer to home in ATL where TechOps can keep an eye on them and can swap in spares easily on short notice. It’s like an elderly person moving to a planned retirement community near the hospital.
Other than the 717, you’re gonna need to plan a few east coast trips to pick up the remaining McDonnell-Douglas fleet...
Other than the 717, you’re gonna need to plan a few east coast trips to pick up the remaining McDonnell-Douglas fleet...
Jun 15, 2019, 5:50 pm
#19
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Thanks for all your responses, guys!
Just for posterity's sake! LOL
If the MD-11 and DC-9-50 were still around, I would hunt them down as well. LOL
I flew the DC-10 once as a child, and I barely remember it. I flew the DC-9-30 with a different airline when I was a teen and deplaned on the rear stairs. That was an interesting experience!
Cool!
Interesting that the MD-88s have a 3-2 seating configuration whereas most DC9s/MD80s had 2-3.
Just for posterity's sake! LOL
If the MD-11 and DC-9-50 were still around, I would hunt them down as well. LOL
I flew the DC-10 once as a child, and I barely remember it. I flew the DC-9-30 with a different airline when I was a teen and deplaned on the rear stairs. That was an interesting experience!
Interesting that the MD-88s have a 3-2 seating configuration whereas most DC9s/MD80s had 2-3.
Jun 15, 2019, 10:12 pm
#21
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Kind of crazy to think that they've now been narrowed down that much just to ATL. They were always such a staple of the fleet - almost the boring, default aircraft that you'd just assume you're going to be on when taking any flights out of the major hubs. I won't mind the upgraded interiors, PTV's, and nicer planes like the A220 and even ERJ fleets, but I'll miss the fact that for the longest time, these aircraft were what it meant to fly Delta... and the silent takeoffs in first class.
Jun 15, 2019, 11:03 pm
#22
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Jun 16, 2019, 7:39 am
#24
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Jun 16, 2019, 2:37 pm
#25
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That said, in principle there is value in having low fixed cost / high operating expense planes in the fleet - keep them mostly parked in the winter and quieter seasons and fly them during peak summer season. Historically Delta has had a slightly higher peak-to-trough ratio than their competitors, and that has largely been enabled with their old, cheap (fixed costs) planes parked during low demand periods.
That said, the issue is the pilot pool (and to a lesser extent, MX inventory and expertise) that has to be maintained. You have to have enough work for them during the off-season so to speak. Are MD-90 and MD-95/717 flyable by the same pilot pool?
Jun 16, 2019, 3:02 pm
#26
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I have not been on a MD-90 since 2015. I think that flight, BOS-MSP, was the last MD-90 I will be on. It's been even longer for any MD-80 for me.
On take off, they are quiet.
Last edited by Toshbaf; Jun 16, 2019 at 3:09 pm