FYI
American Airlines has set 2019 as the year it will retire its Boeing MD-80 fleet, replacing the venerable rear-engined aircraft with modern Boeing models.
While the MD-80 lacks the storied history and iconic shape of the likes of the retiring Boeing 747, it was a workhorse of American and other US carriers' domestic fleets from the 1980s through the early 2000s making it an everyday sight at airports around the country.
American has said before that the MD-80 would exit its fleet by the end of the decade, but had not publicly stated a firm date until the announcement on 30 October that it will close its St Louis pilots base in September 2018 due to retirements of the aircraft. The St Louis base, which the airline acquired with Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 2001, only includes the MD-80.
Fort Worth-based American plans to finish 2017 with 45 MD-80s in its fleet, shrinking to 26 by the fall of 2018, a spokesman told FlightGlobal on 30 October.
All of the carrier's MD-80s will be based at its Dallas/Fort Worth hub once the St Louis pilot base closes.
The 140-seat aircraft is being replaced by 160-seat Boeing 737-800s.
