• Delta's last MD-88 flight: Farewell to a Mad Dog

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    Delta's last MD-88 flight: Farewell to a Mad Dog
    Story by Chris Sloan; video by Chris Sloan and Channon Hodge, CNN •
    Updated 2nd June 2020


    Washington to Atlanta (CNN) — In normal times, special flights like
    Delta Air Lines' retirement of the last McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series
    aircraft flying scheduled passenger service in North America are cause
    for celebration. With national crises raging, these are anything but
    normal times. Yet against this tragic backdrop, the final flight on
    Tuesday was historic, joyous and completely surreal.

    Airline enthusiast and employees flew in from around the country to be a
    part of this event, and I was lucky enough to be on board. After 33
    years as the backbone of Delta's domestic fleet, and after nearly four
    decades plying the world's skies, the once ubiquitous MD-88 aircraft
    known as the "Mad Dog" vanished from scheduled airline service Tuesday,
    marking the end of an era for the aircraft not just in the United
    States, but in most of the world.

    This was the last scheduled passenger flight in America of any McDonnell Douglas designed and produced passenger aircraft in America.
    The significance of the MD-80 to the Atlanta-based carrier can't be
    overstated. Though Delta wasn't the first airline to fly the MD-80, the
    airline was the launch customer for the Mad Dog's predecessor, the DC-9,
    back in 1965.

    Delta operated 120 examples of the MD-80 at its peak (out of 1,191
    built). Delta's MD-80s were specially updated and rebranded as the
    MD-88. This beloved workhorse entered service on April 1, 1987, flying
    to just about every city in Delta's North American network with 900
    flights per day.

    Mad Dog retires: On Tuesday, Delta Air Lines retired the last McDonnell
    Douglas MD-80 series aircraft flying scheduled passenger service in
    North America.

    Chris Sloan

    The MD-80s are affectionately known as Mad Dogs because they take off
    like rocket ships and unlike more modern automated aircraft, they
    require pilots' full attention to fly and land. At their height they represented 50% of all Delta departures and arrivals at the world's
    busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International.
    Over 33 years, the fleet flew 750 million passengers, achieving 12
    million hours in the air. On the last full day of operations, only 14
    MD-88s and two of its MD-90 sisterships were operating from the
    airline's Atlanta base.


    Retiring in style

    Which brings us to Tuesday's Flight DL88. The MD-88s were to be retired
    at the end of this year. But with plummeting demand, airlines like Delta
    have accelerated retirement of their elderly fleets and parked thousands
    more planes.

    Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, Delta has parked 650 jets, or
    half of the combined 1,316 planes in its mainline and Delta Connection
    fleets.


    Delta's MD-88s average 28.7 years old. With Delta's bulging order book
    of new, next-generation aircraft such as the Airbus A220, the Mad Dog's
    time had come and gone.

    The star of the day was N900DE, the 100th MD-88 delivered to Delta. She
    had flown nearly 58,000 takeoffs and landings and spent 75,000 hours
    aloft since first entering service in March 1992.

    Tuesday's DL88 flight from Washington's Dulles Airport sold out within
    minutes. With Delta's Covid-19 policy of not booking flights exceeding
    50% capacity in First Class and 60% capacity in the main cabin, the
    aircraft wasn't full -- unheard of for final flights. Only 84 of 149
    seats were occupied.

    On board Delta's last ever MD-80 flight

    Passengers and crew aboard the last MD-88 flight posed for a group photo
    at Dulles.

    Chris Sloan

    By 6:30 a.m., the gate was swarmed with excited AvGeeks and employees.
    Despite a time when all airlines are facing their most severe crisis
    ever, Delta sent off its workhorse in style.

    Much to the delight of the crowd that expected a more muted affair, the
    gate was festooned with balloons and banners. The two captains and the
    cabin crew had celebrity status with bursts of applause as they stepped
    to the gate. The flight crew got into the festivities, assembling
    everyone for a commemorative, not very socially distant, "class photo." Boarding began in groups of just a few rows from the back of the plane
    forward, in keeping with Delta's Covid-19 social distancing protocol. As
    we taxied out, our plane was drenched in a commemorative water cannon
    salute.

    The water droplets dripping down the windows looked like tears as we
    taxied past rows and rows of parked airplanes -- victims of the
    coronavirus' devastating economic effects. This powerful contrast wasn't
    lost on anyone.

    On board Delta's last ever MD-80 flight


    'A true pilot's plane'

    Onboard, before the show officially started, each crew member on the PA addressed the MD-88 fanboys and fangirls with what the MD-80 meant to them.

    Captain Carl Nordin regaled passengers with Mad Dog factoids, but with
    his voice cracking said, "It's our baby. It created a lot of jobs, this
    was the plane I trained on. It's going to be sad to park her for the
    last time."

    "I will miss hand flying her. She's a true pilot's plane," waxed Captain
    Jim Hamilton.

    Ross Davis, a senior flight attendant, held back the tears remarking,
    "It was the plane I worked on my first day. It's close to my heart. It
    was the first plane to take me to an international destination, which
    was hugely important to me."

    Ross Davis is a big fan of the MD-88, the first he worked as a Delta
    flight attendant.

    Ross Davis is a big fan of the MD-88, the first he worked as a Delta
    flight attendant.

    What will he miss the most? "The wide aisles." Passengers also said
    they'd miss the 2x3 seating, which cut down on the dreaded middle seat.
    "I will miss the noise the most," said one enthusiast who lives in
    Atlanta. "If you live within 40 miles of the airport, you know how an
    MD-80 sounds."

    The MD-80 series was sometimes called the "Mullet Plane," with its
    "business in the front" whisper quiet front part of the cabin and loud
    "party in the back of the plane" from the twin rear mounted Pratt &
    Whitney JT8D-200 series engines.


    By comparison to any airliners built from the 1990s forward, the MD-80
    is a loud, low-tech, fuel guzzling and environmentally unfriendly relic
    of the 1980s. But when it first entered service as the DC-9-80, the
    airplane boasted a competitive edge.

    "MD-80 series aircraft, like their predecessor DC-9s, have been
    extraordinarily durable -- some of them have remained in service even as
    newer aircraft have been retired. They're retiring because of economics,
    not because they couldn't continue operating safely for years to come,"
    says Seth Kaplan, NPR's Here and Now transportation reporter and co-host
    of the AirlineConfidential podcast.

    A surreal finale for an aviation icon

    At 8:40 a.m. it was showtime as the Pratts spooled up. Within 30
    seconds, the lightly loaded 32-year-old plane sharply rotated like a
    rocket ship into the air from Dulles Runway 30. There was no applause,
    just absolute quiet as the audience soaked in the engine symphony and
    famed jet fighter-like take off.

    With virtually everyone onboard wearing masks, it was difficult to gauge anyone's reaction. And when the catering came around, it was a small
    plastic bag filled with a water bottle, energy bar and hand sanitizer.
    This is a surreal, austere age.

    Nevertheless, with a short 1 hour and 45 minute flight time, these
    passengers came ready to celebrate! Almost on cue, passengers broke out Sharpies -- turning the plane's window shades, overhead bins and walls
    into a canvas for art and autographs.

    Thank you and Godspeed @delta Mad Dog. After 750 milllion passengers
    carried, You have earned your rest and place in history. #MD88



    Social distancing became very difficult for the crew to control as
    passengers crowded into the aisles for photos. A safety card was passed
    around for everyone to sign, while every other safety card was removed
    as a souvenir. Some passengers got a bit overzealous and pried placards
    from the plane. The flight crew had to admonish the youngish crowd to
    leave those items in place.

    At 9:35 a.m., the Pratts spooled back and the Mad Dog began its final
    initial descent. The seat belt sign came on, but no one seemed to notice
    -- or care. Finally, with everyone belted in with seats in their upright position, the grand finale came into view. You could feel that our Mad
    Dog didn't want to land. She had a lot more flying left in her.

    At 9:41 a.m. with the cabin completely quiet, the 28-year-old airplane
    gently kissed runway 8L in Atlanta for the last time. With all of her sisterships already on the way to their final resting place -- in
    Blytheville, Arkansas -- the scene at ATL sans Mad Dogs really hit home.
    In just a few hours, N900DE would depart Atlanta, joining her sisters in
    the airplane graveyard.

    A crowd of enthusiastic employees waving Delta and US flags welcomed
    their last MD-88 home one last time. Following a final water cannon
    salute, the windows were again awash in drops that looked more like
    tears. Our relic of the 1980s sat in dignified repose on the ramp
    awaiting her fate.

    After the crosschecks and cabin doors were opened, flight attendant Ross
    Davis has the final word: "Thank you, Mad Dog, for the people you have
    moved and the lives you have touched." https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/delta-air-lines-md-80-last-flight/index.html

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