By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” which holds true for Grand Rapids resident Luis Solis.

Solis has a ticket for a very special flight — one of the last flights of the American Airlines MD-80. American Airlines announced several months ago it would retire the last of its 26 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircrafts, also known as the Super 80 or Mad Dog.

“When I first heard about it, I was like they are going to retire the MD-80, too sad,” said Solis, a commercial airplane aficionado who easily admits he sometimes books a flight based on the type of aircraft being used. The announcement came and went but then, American Airlines released the schedule of the final revenue (passenger) flights for the iconic plane.

“When I opened up the schedule and saw that there was a flight leaving from Grand Rapids on Sept. 3, I just began to take a look to see if there were seats and, well I was able to get one.”

The flight is scheduled to leave at 2:25 p.m. Sept. 3 from the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and will land in Fort Wayne, Texas, the final destination for many of the American Airlines’ MD-80s. 

There is some sentimental value as well in taking the flight as the aircraft was an instrumental key to the U.S.’s current air transportation system, Solis said.

A deal in 1982 between the MD-80’s maker, McDonnell Douglas, and American Airlines is credited for saving both the companies from financial ruin. Considered a workhorse, the aircraft was crucial to American Airlines planned growth in the 1980s that included the hub concept with the carrier being able to service smaller markets such as Grand Rapids. Other airlines soon followed American Airlines lead, purchasing the MD-80. 

About anyone who flew in the 1980s or 1990s probably has done so on the MD-80, especially if they took an American Airlines flight. American Airlines had the largest fleet of the aircraft, with more than 250. That number grew to around 380 — about 40 percent of the airline’s fleet — when American Airlines acquired TWA in 2001. 

Because the aircraft was so common, it was associated with many fond memories for those who piloted it and were along for the ride.

“MD-80 was often the one that was taking me to my vacation or bringing me back from my vacation. It was simple and it had a smooth ride,” Solis said. “It didn’t have all the amenities that new planes have but I loved it. It is one of those planes that when you saw it, you just knew what you were going to fly.”

Time marches on and the global fleet of MD-80s started to age with American Airlines being the first to stop investing in the aircraft. The newer aircrafts are quieter and offer more entertainment amenities.

And while American Airlines is retiring its MD-80s, you still will see them in the sky. Delta, along with several foreign airlines, still utilize the aircraft and the MD-80s also are used as cargo planes. 

When a U.S. airline retires an aircraft after decades of service any one of three things can happen: the aircraft can be immediately destroyed and the metal recycled; the aircraft can sit in the dry graveyard in California’s Mojave Desert; or the aircraft can be re-sold to air services in smaller, foreign countries.

The combination that this is one of the last MD-80 flights for American Airlines, which is credited with helping to develop today’s high frequency pattern of air service, and it is leaving from Grand Rapids, a rarity for last flights, makes the Sept. 3 truly an adventure, Solis said. 

“It really is about the journey,” Solis said. “To know that sometime in the past I rode this and that this is it, this is the last time; it is like somebody retiring. It’s done.”