Fri, Sep 02, 2011
Acquisition of AirTran Included 80+ Of The Planes
If you're looking for a deal on a well-maintained Boeing 717,
you may be in luck. More than half the 717s in the world are
looking for new homes. Southwest Airlines, which is known for its
all-737 fleet, inherited more than 80 of the smaller 717's in its
acquisition of AirTran, and had suggested early on that it might
hold onto the planes to serve smaller markets.
But in the time since, Southwest has decided it will eliminate
some smaller markets that were served by AirTran, and CEO Gary
Kelly now says the company sees no advantage in keeping the smaller
planes.
The 717 started life as the McDonnell Douglas MD-95, an
evolution of the earlier MD-80 and DC-9. By the time the first one
was delivered in 1999, McDonnell Douglas was part of Boeing, and
the plane was named the 717. There were only about 156 of them made
before production ended in 2006. Airtran owns more than half of the
world fleet, including the first and last 717s ever made.
According to a report in the Dallas Morning News, Kelly told an
audience at the Boyd Group International aviation conference near
Albuquerque, NM, that the 717 is "not different enough or unique
enough that it really brings any advantage beyond what a 737 would
do...It's a good airplane, but not one that I see we have to
maintain for the next 20 years."
USA Today cites FlightGlobal.com in reporting the 717 leases
begin to expire between 2017 and 2024, and that Southwest "is in
discussions" with Boeing about the leases.
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