Boeing 717.

McDonnell Douglas felt that there was a gap in the market in the 100 seat range. Throughout the 1980s, they investigated various options, even producing a shorter MD-80, the MD-87. The reception was very lukewarm from the market and this was soon shelved.

In 1991 McDonnell Douglas was again looking at the smaller version. They called the project MD-87-105 which signified the seating capacity to be 105 seats. It was shorter again than the MD-87.

At the Paris Airshow of 1991, an announcement was made about the new model which had been renamed the MD-95 which was the year that it was expected to be available. The aim was to have a replacement ready for all those airliners who were still flying the 30-year-old DC-9.

Qantas Link Boeing 717-231 Registration VH-NXM, landing at Brisbane.

The MD-95 was more than just another size offering in the MD-80 and MD-90 families. This aircraft was modernised with all the latest technology that was then available.

New cockpit, new engines and modernised systems in general, were a feature of this new offering. McDonnell Douglas envisaged a whole family of aircraft based on the new design.

Valujet launched the order book with an order for 50 aircraft with an option for 50 more. McDonnell Douglas felt this was enough to go to production with and must have felt a little nervous when no further orders were received for the next 2 years.

AeBal (Spanair Link) Boeing 717-2CM Reg EC-HOA at PMI Palma de Mallorca Airport.

Blue1 of Finland Boeing 717-2CM on 22 July 2013 Reg OH-BLH.

Construction of the first 717 began in May, at which time Boeing was also having trouble making any further sales of the aircraft. The original 50 were not ever a certainty due to the post 911 instability of the airline market. The roll-out ceremony took place on 10 June 1998 and the maiden flight 3 months later on 02 September 1998. A year later on 01 September 1999, the 717 gained type certification and the same month AirTran Airways received their first aircraft.

Once the Boeing 717 was in service, it began to gain popularity with passengers and operators alike.

The Boeing 717 interior is set out in a 2 – 3 seating configuration. This means there are two seats on one side of the aisle and 3 on the other. The beauty of this for passengers is that there is only one column of middle seats, as opposed to the common 3-3 configuration of the Boeing 737 and A320 in which there are of course 2 columns of middle seats.

In November 1994, MD surprised everyone by announcing the MD-95 would be assembled in Dallas Texas and not their longtime facility in Long Beach California. This would be a blow for Long Beach. However, after union pressure as well as workers agreeing to a pay freeze, Long Beach was once again selected.

In August 1997 McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing. It was expected that Boeing would stop the MD-95 project. They did, however, decide to go ahead with the project and changed the designation from MD-95 to Boeing 717.

The 717 model number had been skipped when they went from the Boeing 707 to the Boeing 720 and then 727. The 717 number had been used in relation to a military fuel tanker but otherwise, it was free to use.

Hawaiian Airlines Boeing-717.

Operators of the 717 were delighted to find how reliable the aircraft was.

It achieved better than a 99% dispatch rate which was better than its competitors. It was also faster than the BAe 146 one of its nearest rivals. AirTran stated that the C check, which was performed every 4,500 flying hours, took 3 days as compared to 21 days for the DC9. This represented huge savings.

Whilst McDonnell Douglas had envisaged a family of aircraft based on the MD-95, Boeing had quite a different view. They already had the 737 family which covered most of the single-aisle market, so the 717 was a one-off. Sales for the 717 were steady and Boeing actively marketed the aircraft to several large airlines that were DC9 operators and needed to upgrade their fleets. In spite of the 911 downturn, Boeing still managed to sell; 19 in 2000, 6 in 2001 and 32 in 2002.

Boeing 717 MD95, Hawaiian, left port tail and engine, at the gate.

The end of the 717 was brought about by the new regional jets that were starting to be produced by Bombardier of Canada and Embraer of Brazil. The loss of a large Air Canada order to Bombardier sealed the 717s future. Boeing decided that it was no longer viable and in January 2005 announced that as soon as all orders were filled the production of the 717 would stop.

In April 2006 the last and 156th Boeing 717 rolled off the assembly line. The last two were delivered to AirTran and Midwest Airlines on 23 May 2006. AirTran was the first customer and also the last.  This was also the last commercial aircraft to be built at the Long Beach factory. The end of an era.

This Boeing 717 flight deck shows the extensive use of modern computer screens.