NEW YORK: American Airlines is retiring the last of its McDonnell Douglas MD-80 planes. The remaining 26 aircraft are in the process of taking their final flights to Roswell, New Mexico.
The MD-80, also known as the Super 80, was the workhorse of the airline’s fleet throughout the 1980s and beyond.
The Super 80 era began at American in May 1983 with three aircraft serving six cities – Dallas-Fort Worth; Detroit; New York City; Memphis, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee; and Ontario, California.
When introduced, the MD-80 was one of the most fuel-efficient commercial airplanes in the sky.
American was the first of the large US-based airlines to introduce the aircraft to its fleet and, by 2003, was operating 362 of the iconic planes, representing approximately one-third of all MD-80s ever produced by McDonnell Douglas.
The final MD-80 revenue flight, American flight 80, took off earlier from Dallas-Fort Worth for the last time bound for O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
From there, the plane will ferry to Roswell to join the other MD-80s.
The retirement of the MD-80 marks the end of an iconic era in American’s history.
