Anyone used AirTran?

[CarolA]

Anyone know how old a DC 9 would be by now? McDonald Douglas has been out of business for years! However, the age a plane is really is not a good indicator. There are some old DC-3s still in use in South America. The more imporatant part is the age of things like the engine, brakes etc. and that is hard to tell.

 

[Praise2Him]

I'm flying one-way on Oct. 3. Delta's price is $100.25, but I'm not sure if that's including tax, etc. (don't think so) AirTran is $73.25 total.Delta was about $87 for several weeks and then on Memorial Day went up to $100. I guess I will just call Delta and ask. Thanks for sharing your experience. I don't fly very often so I'm just learning!

 

[sgtdisney]

CarolA this reply is for you...

The newest actual DC-9 was built in the early 80s. Probably around 1981 or 1982. However McDonnell Douglas was building MD80s long after that which were, for the most part, stretched DC-9s. Boeing bought McDonnell Douglas a few years back and is currently making planes that are for all intents and purposes McDonnell Douglas aircraft. This would be the Boeing 717 which started out as an MD-95. The 717 is very similar to the DC-9 in appearance but is a whole new model with a new cockpit, etc.

Boeing was also making MD-11s until very recently which were called Boeings as well.

The oldest DC-9 in AirTran's fleet, as of last month, was built in 1968, while the newest DC-9 in their fleet was built in 1976. Northwest has a few DC-9s still flying which were built in 1966 for comparison.

 

[travelcoupons]

The first prototype DC-9 took to the air Feb. 25, 1965 and they went into service on Dec 8 of the same year. There have been 976 of them produced, with the last one made in 1982. Northwest Airlines currently has the largest fleet of DC-9's (171 as of 4-15-01). Most of the flights I have taken on Northwest have been on DC-9's and most of them that I have checked were manufactured in 1969. The plane has been totally rebuilt over and over in those years as most planes are, with only the shell being original. They could fly for years into the future, but they are being phased out by many airlines because they are fuel guzzlers and are quite noisy and many cities (in Europe especially) do not want them landing in their airports because of the noise. In the 1990's , Northwest was buying them from European airlines that are no longer using them.
Airtran is gradually replacing them with 717's which offer better fuel economy and are quieter. NW has no such plans to eliminate their fleet of 9's at this time.

 

[ralphd]

Airtran will add 14 717's to their fleet in 2001 for a total of 30 by the end of the year. See the Airtran press release at:
' www.businesswire.com/webbox/bw.041701/211072762.htm
.

 

[horseshowmom]

Praise2Him,

You said that you were halfway between B'ham and Atlanta. Have you checked Southwest out of B'ham? Sometimes they have some good deals too.

 

[Praise2Him]

Yes, I've been checking them too, but so far they don't have any good deals and they only have one non-stop flight and it leave in the afternoon (I prefer morning). The main reason I'm leaving out of Atlanta, though, is that I have to leave my car parked and will be driving back home with my family (not flying) and we come back through Atlanta, so I can pick up my car on the way. In Birmingham I would have to make a special trip to go back and get it.

I've still been holding out for Delta, but so far they haven't come down. What should I do? Wait, or go with AirTran? HELP!!!

 

[sgtdisney]

Praise2Him, almost every major carrier has had a fatal accident. Delta has had quite a few. I wouldn't let the incident with ValuJet dissuade you from using AirTran. They were checked out quite extensively by the government and should be as safe as any other carrier.

 

[travelcoupons]

I haven't flown Air Tran since 1998, but I did fly Delta last year...and in my opinion, Delta has some of the shabbiest, run down planes that I have ever been on...not to mention mechanical problems on three of the four Delta flights I took last year. I'm sure Delta has newer planes, I just wasn't lucky enough to get one. Just so you don't get your hopes up too high with Delta.