Finnair operated the final scheduled passenger service of its MD-11 aircraft (Delhi-Helsinki) on February 22 2010. Its two MD-11s are for sale, with the carrier stating there was a "possibility" of using them for Finnair's cargo services. And so ends another era of commercial flight - the last of the big triple engined jets goes away. Finnair operated MD-11s for almost 20 years, handling almost 14m passengers and conducting approximately 400,000 flying hours and more than 50,000 flights.
The first MD-11 was delivered to Finnair on December 7, 1990 and also made the first revenue service on December 20, 1990, carrying passengers from Helsinki to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The airplane was beset with issues of being unable to meet its range performance due to higher drag and fuel burn. Though the airplane had a bumpy life, and was killed off by the A340 and 777, it still continues as a good freighter. But it will never match its siblings, the DC-8 and DC-9, for longevity.
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- An interesting cocktail - BA & Kingfisher
- SAS and a recipe for change
- The other side of Brazil's airline growth
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