Oregon Public Broadcasting

If you’ve flown on Alaska Airlines in recent years, chances are you’ve ridden on an MD-80 jet.  Later this week, the Seattle-based airline is retiring the last of that aging model from its fleet.  Correspondent Tom Banse has the reason why.

The short answer: the MD-80 family of jets are “gas-guzzlers.” 

Alaska Air once operated 44 of the twin-engine jetliners.  They’re being scrapped to accelerate cost savings. 

The replacement plane is the Boeing 737.  It’s significantly more fuel efficient.

Airline spokeswoman Marianne Lindsey expects some pilots and customers to miss the old McDonnell-Douglas jet.

Marianne Lindsey: “Passengers loved it because of the seating.  There were three seats on one side and two seats on the other with a center aisle.  For those on the two seat side, there was no middle seat.”

Alaska Airlines took a charge against its first quarter earnings for the early retirement of the narrow-body jets.

Earlier this year, the FAA grounded hundreds of MD-80 class jets for urgent wiring inspections. 

Lindsey says safety issues were a non-factor in retiring the airplane model.