
Despite their notoriously common mechanical problems, the “Mad Dog” was very popular with passengers, particularly thanks to its quiet cabin (even near the engines), as well as its five-abreast seating, which meant that less than thirty passengers were seated in middle seats. This also was popular with Alaska management—Alaska replaced the carts and other parts on the aging planes in order to save weight and improve fuel economy.
But ultimately it was their economics that led to their downfall: as the noisiest aircraft in the fleet, they also guzzled fuel much more than their higher capacity replacements. For Alaska, the 737-800 made much more sense for three key reasons: fuel economy, capacity, and range. Not only does the 737-800 burn less fuel per hour, but it carries more passengers and possesses much greater range than the MD-83, allowing it to fly every one of Alaska’s routes. The MD-83 was typically limited to the West Coast of the U.S, venturing only to Anchorage and Fairbanks on rare occasions.
Despite its shortcomings the MD-83 was an important aircraft in Alaska’s history; it operated the first scheduled service between the U.S. and Eastern Russia and helped develop much of the company’s service into Mexico. For Alaska, this moment isn’t about the past, however. It’s about the future, and the future that an all-737 fleet will behold will be a good future indeed. Alaska Virtual will continue to offer service on our Discontinued Flights which were served by the MD-83, including the entire network of services in the Russian Far East.
Update: the Seattle-Post Intelligencer has an article on father-daughter pilots who flew one of the last flights.
This topic is being discussed on the Message Boards.