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.

FMI: www.southwest.com