carrier Aeronaves TSM had -10 XA-UVR,
and in Africa, two -30s were believed to be
operational with African Express Airways,
and a DC-9-14 was still in service with the
Kenyan carrier Fly-SAX. Elsewhere, the
Dominican Republic-based airline PAWA
Dominicana was still offering passenger
charters with a 110-seat series 32.NEW GENERATION –
THE MD-80
Back in October 1977 the McDonnell
Douglas board had given the go-ahead to
develop the Super 80 series of ‘stretched’
DC-9s, incorporating the latest technology.
It also included the newly-available Pratt
& Whitney JT8D 200 engine, which was
approximately 15% more powerful than the
JT8D-17 and had around 10% lower fuel
consumption. The first model was the Super
81, which could carry 137 passengers in
a two-class layout or 172 in high-density
configuration. The Super 81 made its
maiden flight on October 18, 1979.
FAA certification followed on August 26,
1980, and the first of 15 examples for launchcustomer Swissair was delivered the next
month. McDonnell had already announced
its intention to develop a Super 82 variant for
airlines operating from ‘hot and high’ airfields,
and early orders were placed by Aeromexico
and the South American carrier Austral
Líneas Aéreas. The Super 82 also had
appeal for airlines in more temperate zones,
where the model’s extra power permitted the
uplift of a greater load of passengers or fuel.
Also produced was the Super 83, which
shared the same 147ft 10in fuselage length
with the Super 81 and Super 82, the only
major differences between the three sub-
variants being in engine power output, fuel
capacities and weights. From 1983 the DC-9
Super 80 models were marketed as the
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 range.
In March 1984 sales were boosted by a
firm order from American Airlines for 67 MD-
82s and options on a further 100 (which it
subsequently received as well as some when
it took over TWA). At that time the carrier
was already operating 20 on lease from
McDonnell Douglas. The additional aircraft
were used to expand American’s operationsfrom its Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago hubs.
At one point American Airlines had over 300
MD-80s.
In Europe, Finnair was flying three MD-
82s and placed the first European order for
the MD-83, for use on scheduled services
from Helsinki, and another for inclusive-tour
charters to the Mediterranean and North
Africa. The first company to take the MD-83
into service, however, was Alaska Airlines,
in February 1985. In the UK the MD-83 was
gainfully employed on holiday charters by
Paramount Airways and Airtours International
in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Two more variants of the MD-80 series
were produced. The MD-87 was a short-
fuselage 114-130 seat version, 17ft 4in
shorter than the other models, and powered
by new Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 engines. It
was officially launched in January 1985 after
orders were placed by Finnair and Austrian
Airlines. Production of the MD-87 ended in
1992 after 75 had been built.
The MD-88 reverted to the longer
fuselage of the earlier versions but
introduced a redesigned passenger cabin,60 Aviation News incorporating Jets May 2018Delta Shuttle flew high-frequency services from La Guardia to Boston, Chicago and Washington from 2005 to 2008. Its aircraft were then absorbed back
into the mainline fleet. This is an MD-88 of which in early 2018 the carrier still had 113 examples, as well as MD-90s and Boeing 717s. Key CollectionAn MD-83 used by the Spanish charter airline Spanair for inclusive-tour flights. Key CollectionThe MD-87 had the shortest fuselage of the MD-80
family, and among the operatoprs which flew it was
German carrier Aero Lloyd. Key Collection56-61_dc9DC.mfDC.indd 60 04/04/2018 12:58