Delta to Retire Last DC-9 in January

Delta aircraft at JFK

Delta Air Lines, which was the launch customer for the original Douglas DC-9 aircraft in 1965, announced plans to retire its last DC-9 in January.

The last DC-9 flight will take place on January 6, 2014.  Flight 2014 is scheduled to depart Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 4:20 p.m. local time.

This flight will be the last scheduled commercial flight of a DC-9 by a major U.S. airline.

The retirement is the result of Delta adding newer and more efficient planes to its fleet, including the Boeing 717.  The Atlanta-based airline has started to take delivery of refurbished Boeing 717-200 and new Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, putting them into service in October and November respectively.  Delta also announced an order for 30 Airbus A321 aircraft, which will start to arrive in 2016.

While Delta retired its original DC-9s in 1993, larger versions of the plane joined its fleet following its merger with Northwest Airlines several years ago.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)