I'm sure we're about to tack on 16 more MD-90s from JAL bringing the total to 44. In fact I thought that was stated somewhere official that if JAL happened we'd be taking their already unwanted MD-90s.

I was told the same about the -50's and that if they do it then they plan on keeping them possibly up to 2018 which would be the same lifespan as the DC9-30/40s have had.

It was over 40 without the JAL birds.

We had 16 90's originally. I think we have 3 from Hello Airlines sitting in the desert that we got last fall. The 9 from China Eastern would give us a total of 28.

If you match the 88 then everyone can fly the 88 and 9, but matching might be more expensive then just having someone like Innovative Solutions & Support do a new cockpit that is not only advanced but lighter and requiring less power. From what I can tell reading on line a 756 IS&S cockpit upgrade is $400K. I know that to transform a 1970s/1980s steam gauge Citaiton or King Air into a full glass cockpit with a digitial AP runs $300K and $250K out the door. There are more expensive multi-million dollar upgrades aimed at corporate operators who have more cents then sense, or used to at least.

I wonder if they put newer common PFDs, engine instruments and FMS' in the 88, 9 and 90 and not change anything else if that could give them enough to sign off on a single fleet? That'd be funny.

Or retrofit the -50s with the Saudi MD-90 cockpit, call that one fleet type and then lets just aquire every MD-90 ever built.

Anyways, long live the 9 and the longer 9. ;)

List of MD-90s in the world before we took 3 from Hello and 9 from China Eastern:

Saudi Arabian Airlines (29) (Middle East, phasing the type out)
Delta Air Lines (16) (College Park Georgia now has 12 more MD-90s)
Japan Airlines (16) (Asia)
China Southern (13) (Asia)
Uni Air (11) (Asia)
China Eastern (9) (Asia, now sending 9 to DAL)
Hello Airlines (6) (Asia, now only 3 with 3 to DAL)
Blue1 (5) (Finland)
Lion Air (5) (Asia)

well the military already has a decent conversion on their C-9s that should be easy to duplicate. Its a PAID for 124 seat aircraft that with some minor mods, can be utilized for a lot more years.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...-5328n-358.jpg

I have seen their public communications, I have seen the stories they tell that are related here, and I have talked with people that are still involved in the union.

I think before the Feds would sign off on a common fleet you would have to have an FMS system and FGCP in the -9 that was similar to the 88's. I would think that glass vs. non-glass is less of an issue than the FMS system. CAL flies round dial 767's and glass 767 400's in a common fleet, so the glass issue isn't tha big of a deal to the feds.

would this work?


Photos: McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain II (DC-9-32CF) Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

Navy C-9