Originally Posted by
sailingfun
As of 6 months ago the average age of NWA's DC-9 fleet was 35 years and 7 months. That was based on 108 aircraft. They would now average 36 years old. Some I believe have been retired so that may reduce the average age a bit but I don't think stating they are approaching 40 years old is incorrect. I believe several are over 38 years old and few are over 39.
DC-9s - The number of DC-9s will be reduced to 68 aircraft over the course of the year, with the largest reduction coming after the summer. We plan to operate a year-end fleet consisting of 34 - 50s, 12 - 40s and 22 - 30s
50% of the dc9 fleet by the end of the year will be DC9-50's So just to split hairs,a little background for you on the dc9-50
The DC-9-50 is the largest member of the DC-9/MD-80/MD-90/717 family to bear the DC-9 designation. Launched in mid 1973, the DC-9-50 is a further 2.44m (8ft 0in) longer than the DC-9-40, or 4.34m (14ft 3in) longer than the DC-9-30, and has maximum seating for 139 passengers. Delivered from August 1975 - 1980, the DC-9-50 introduced a new look cabin interior designed to make more efficient use of the space available and give the impression of a more spacious interior, plus other improved features such as an improved anti skid braking system and quieter engines compared with the DC-9-40.