Sad to hear about the passenger MD-11 service by the last operator being phased out, I'm surprised they held on this long.  I knew this day would come.  It's been more than 2 years since I last flew the PMDG MD-11, but I had lots of fun in her.  I am very familiar with the TNCM field in FSX, I flew the KLM routes round trip from EHAM in both the MD-11 and 747, including stops at TNCC to refuel on the way back because of TNCM's short runway and the nearby terrain making a lightly loaded plane a necessity. 

 

My bucket list includes a trip to St. Maarten, this vacation spot is a flight simmer's wet dream!

More for the frieghter fleet.

 

McDonnell Douglas MD-11 64 — Exiting service: 1 in 2015, 1 in 2016, 8 in 2017, 4 in 2018, older being replaced by newer used aircraft

Me on MD11 retirement:

Sad to hear about the passenger MD-11 service by the last operator being phased out,

 

Not sure if this is the last operator of the passenger version. The article only mentions KLM as the last major operator of the type.

 

Rgds,

Bruno

I believe World still operates them.

I thought World was primarily a military charter?

Yes they are. They fly troops around with the passenger version of the md11. They may very well be the last operator of passenger md11s.

I suspect we may see a period of a few years with no passenger use of the MD-11 in normal scheduled/charter service (apart from the above mentioned World Airways use), while the resale prices drop, and then in 6-12 years I reckon we'll see MD-11s all over Africa and far east Asia.

 

Bearing in mind that the very oldest MD-11s are c.1991, that is not actually that old, relatively (not compared to the 35 year old DC-9s that Delta are still flying!), hence the MD-11s that have been retired by the major carriers are still cost prohibitive to buy / lease for the emerging markets.... (and as we know, very cost prohibitive to operate too!).

 

But once the MD-11s become cheap workhorses for the emerging markets, I suspect we'll see them around again.

Suckage. Best bet is to keep tracking the FDX MD11s. They should be around for a few more years yet. 

Bearing in mind that the very oldest MD-11s are c.1991, that is not actually that old, relatively (not compared to the 35 year old DC-9s that Delta are still flying!)

I was always wondering why Delta kept the DC-9-50 flying to this day, and even recently as a few years ago they had the -30 and -40s still operating.  Same with U.S. Airways with the -400 in their fleet still, even though they are being phased out.  I think the bean counters obviously crunched the numbers with their expert cost analysis, and decided the airlines came out ahead even with high fuel prices because the airframes were fully paid for.  But then again, it doesn't help when so many competitors are bragging about the average age of their fleets.   I suppose with the recent revitalization of the airline industry as a whole following 9/11, a record runup in crude oil prices, and the 2008 financial crisis, airlines are now comfortable taking on debt and refreshing their fleets.  

 

As a longtime airline stock "trader", I pay particular attention to industry trends, and have enjoyed nice gains flipping U.S. Airways, my hometown airline, for the past 5 years, and have recently seen handsome gains with AAMRQ and DAL.  The airlines have really turned their financial situations around, as wall street is now embracing the industry for the first time in a long time.  With pricing power, record revenues from the new ancillary fees, and more stable crude oil prices, the airlines are on firm footing now, and I expect to see a lot of the old birds get put out to pasture.  But also speaking as an airliner nut, it kind of makes me sad of course.  There's nothing like hearing the roar from an old school MD-80 pass over during takeoff, or seeing a smoke trail from far off and guessing which of the older pre-glass cockpit types is behind it (or preceding it).