A Sight No More: Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas MD-80s

Today marked the end of an era for American low-cost carrier Allegiant Air with the retirement of their fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80s after 16 years of operations. The occasion was commemorated with a special flight going back to the airline's roots by flying their first route, a round trip between Las Vegas, Nevada, the city where their current headquarters is located and Fresno, California, their original headquarters and hub when they were first established.

Allegiant acquired its first McDonnell Douglas MD-80 in March 2002 after exiting a period of bankruptcy and corporate restructuring. The "Mad Dog" served as a replacement for the MD-80's predecessor, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, which Allegiant operated a small fleet of four when the airline was first established. Since then, the airline developed its ever-increasing scheduled-service business model relying on the MD-80, while at the same time maintaining a low utilization out of their fleet.

Allegiant is the only U.S. carrier to have operated all five subtypes of the MD-80 series, all acquired second-hand. Throughout its history the airline has operated 61 MD-80s, split between four of the shorter MD-87s, which were specifically used for casino charter flights until their retirement in 2013, and rest being MD-81s, MD-82s, MD-83s, and MD-88s, which are the same lengths. All MD-81s and MD-82s were either retired or converted to MD-83s by 2013, effectively leaving Allegiant with just the MD-83 and six MD-88s, which were the better-performing variants in terms of increased range, higher weights, more powerful engines, and increased fuel capacity in the standard-length members of the MD-80 family.

Starting in July 2012, Allegiant Air announced the addition of used Airbus A319-100s to their fleet and began acquiring them in 2013. That same year, the airline also began adding the larger Airbus A320-200 to its fleet. The addition of the A320 family allowed for growth and expansion for Allegiant, especially into markets and destinations that the MD-80s couldn't fly into; the newer all-Airbus fleet also allows Allegiant to benefit from lower fuel and maintenance costs. This also marked the beginning of the phase-out process of Allegiant's MD-80s, especially since the age of the aircraft as well as rising reliability issues was becoming an apparent.

The retirement of Allegiant's MD-80 fleet leaves Delta Air Lines and American Airlines as the remaining scheduled passenger operators of the MD-80 family in the United States. Other current U.S. MD-80 operators include World Atlantic Airlines and their small fleet of eight in the charter market, as well as USA Jet Airlines and Everts Air in the cargo market with one and eight jets respectively. A handful of MD-87s have also been converted as air tankers for the aerial firefighting roles.

Here is a montage of all the Allegiant MD-80s I managed to photograph when I had the opportunities:

McDonnell Douglas MD-88 (N401NV).

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N427NV); modified from an MD-82.

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N883GA).

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N879GA).

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N417NV); modified from an MD-81.

McDonnell Douglas MD-88 (N403NV).

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N877GA).

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N422NV); modified from an MD-81.

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N421NV); modified from an MD-81.

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N429NV); modified from an MD-82.

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N891GA); modified from an MD-82.

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N872GA); modified from an MD-82.

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N419NV); modified from an MD-81.

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N425NV); modified from an MD-81.

We bid farewell to the legendary "Mad Dog" from yet another U.S. air carrier! The smoky and loud roar of their twin Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200s will be missed from an AvGeek perspective!