The DC-9 won't completely disappear just yet. Delta will keep two DC-9 aircraft as spares for a few weeks as it continues to accept delivery of Boeing 717 aircraft, the airline wrote to employees.

Delta Air Lines on Jan. 6, 2014 will retire its remaining Douglas DC-9 aircraft following Flight 2014 scheduled to depart Minneapolis/St. Paul for Atlanta at 4:20 p.m.

Delta says it has flown a total of 305 DC-9s since 1965. In announcing the retirement of its last DC-9 jets, Delta notes it has removed or retired more than 350 aircraft from its fleet since 2008.

But that was not always the case: in earlier decades, noise reduction was not a priority, and many jets of that era became ...

Delta Air Lines retired its remaining McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft Monday after the last scheduled commercial flight from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Atlanta. “The DC-9 has been a workhorse in ...

The DC-9 was a tough bird, though, and after complete overhauls proved nearly as good as a brand new aircraft, Northwest kept them in service. Delta's history with the DC-9 is a long one.

The Trans World Airlines Douglas DC-9, a twin jet aircraft designed to take off and land on runways of less than 6,000 feet, is shown in this 1966 photo, less than a year after its first ...

McDonnell-Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997, built the last of the T-tail aircraft in 1982. The DC-9 has been replaced by similar-looking successor models such as the MD-88 and Boeing 717 ...

The actual bonus was the fact that the extra gift card was made of aluminum from a retired DC-9 aircraft. The email showed up in my inbox around 9:30 a.m. EST.

McDonnell-Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997, built the last of the T-tail aircraft in 1982. The DC-9 has been replaced by similar-looking successor models such as the MD-88 and Boeing 717 ...