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Assembly of the first MD-11 began on March 9, 1988, and the mating of the fuselage with wings occurred in October that year. The first flight was originally planned to occur in March 1989, but numerous problems with manufacturing, supplier delays, and labor actions resulted in delays. A ceremonial roll out of the prototype occurred in September of that same year.
The following months were used to prepare the prototype for its maiden flight, that finally happened on January 10, 1990. The first two aircraft manufactured were intended for FedEx, and thus were already fitted with the forward side cargo door. They remained with the manufacturer as test aircraft until 1991 before being completely converted to freighter and delivered to their customer. FAA certification was achieved by November 8, 1990. The first MD-11 delivered to a customer went to Finnair on December 7, 1990. This particular aircraft accomplished the first revenue service by an MD-11 on December 20, 1990, when the aircraft carried passengers from Helsinki to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The first MD-11 service in the U.S. was inaugurated by Delta Air Lines, also in 1990.

It was during this period that deficiencies in the MD-11's performance began to surface. It failed to meet its targets for range and fuel burn. American Airlines in particular was unimpressed, as was Singapore Airlines, who canceled its order for 20 aircraft. The P&W-powered MD-11 should have been capable of a 7,000 nautical mile range with 61,000 pounds of payload. The aircraft could only achieve its full range with 48,500 lbs of payload, or a reduced range of 6,493 nm with a full payload.



In 1990, McDonnell Douglas with Pratt & Whitney and General Electric began a modification program known as the Performance Improvement Program (PIP) to improve the aircraft’s weight, fuel capacity, engine performance, and aerodynamics. McDonnell Douglas worked with NASA's Langley Research Center to study aerodynamic improvements. The PIP lasted until 1995 and successfully recovered the range and fuel burn deficiencies. However, the damage caused by the failure of the initial deliveries of the MD-11 to meet the performance goals was unrecoverable. It was then that McDonnell Douglas entered into negotiations with Boeing on a merger plan.


McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997, and the new company announced that MD-11 production would continue as a freighter. However, in 1998 Boeing announced it would end MD-11 production after filling current orders. The last MD-11 was delivered to Lufthansa Cargo on February 22, 2001. The delivery of this aircraft ended a production run of 200 aircraft, and also ended a chapter in aviation history. The Douglas label disappeared after Boeing acquired the company in 1997.


With no other cargo aircraft being offered in the same weight and performance category, the MD-11 became highly sought after by cargo airlines. Because of this, resale prices of MD-11s remained high. Passenger airlines seized this opportunity to sell their MD-11s to cargo airlines, and purchase aircraft in the Boeing 777 category (which, at the time, was not offered in a cargo version). The majority of the MD-11 fleet has now been converted to cargo configuration. With a new mission comes a new lease on life, and the MD-11 will continue in active service throughout the world for many years to come.