The Aircraft of MDT: Boeing 717

Welcome to the fifth regular installment of The Aircraft of MDT. In this series we are taking a look at some of the aircraft that you may spot flying to and from Harrisburg International Airport.

A Boeing 717 in AirTran livery.

When McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged in 1997, McDonnell Douglas was developing the MD-95. The new aircraft would be a grandchild of the Douglas DC-9 by way of the MD-80. It anticipated a need to replace the earliest DC-9s, which were nearly 30 years old at the time. Although many believed that the merger would signal the end of the MD-95 project, Boeing chose to go ahead with production of the aircraft, rebranding it the 717-200.

Boeing had produced a 707 and a 727. Though it appeared to the public that  they had skipped over the 717 designation, it had been used internally; the KC-135 Stratotanker, a military cousin to the 707, had originally been referred to as Model 717. Since that name had never been widely known outside the company, however, it made the perfect name for the new aircraft.

AirTran flight 1004 departs for
Orlando (MCO) on a 717

The 117 seat 717-200 made its first flight in September of 1998 and entered commercial service the following year. Three variants on the base model—a 130 seat 717-300, an 86 seat 717-100, and a 75 seat 717-100 lite—were proposed, but never built. Production of the Boeing 717 ended in 2006 with 156 having been built. The final aircraft was delivered to AirTran Airways in May of 2006. AirTran was the launch customer for the 717 and currently operates 88 of the 133 still in service. AirTran is also the only airline that flies the 717 to and from Harrisburg International Airport. As many as 5,700 passengers a month fly between Harrisburg and Orlando on the aircraft.