New, did you read this in Upfront for Fall 2009 about the elongated Douglas:
MD-88S FOR THE FUTURE?
You betcha! The average age of Delta's MD-88 fleet is 19.1 years - the oldest being 22.4 years and the youngest 15.7 years. By average, that places the MD-88 as the oldest in the Delta South fleet. You may think the Mad Dog is getting old, but in reality it's just now reaching "middle age".
According to Boeing, there were 1,192 MD-80s delivered. Of those delivered, 706 are currently flying. Boeing also states "70% the MD-80 fleet (700 airplanes) have less than 35,000 cycles". Not convinced that it's a young pup yet? What if I told you the life of the fuselage is expected to be 110,000 flight cycles and 150,000 flight hours. That's right - Boeing refers to this life expectancy as the Limit of Validity. That means that most MD-80s could have 20 - 30 years of service life remaining.
Of course Delta will be faced with making the determination on where to draw the line. Economic viability will depend on fuel cost, navigation system limitations, and inevitable mandates (Required Navigational Performance, Noise Regulations, Aging Airplane Safety, etc.) For now it appears that the MD-88 has a solid spot in Delta's long-term fleet plan. And why wouldn't it; the Mad Dog is only 19 years young.
