How Minneapolis-St. Paul Became The Last US Hub Where The DC-9 Still Made Economic Sense

When Delta Air Lines operated its final scheduled McDonnell Douglas DC-9 passenger flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) on January 6, 2014, it looked like the end of a remarkably long chapter for one of the country’s most recognizable narrowbodies. In reality, it was more specific than that – it was the moment when the last US hub and airline combination that could still make the DC-9 work economically finally ran out of reasons to keep it flying. The aircraft had survived almost 50 years in US scheduled service, but nowhere was its history more deeply connected to an airline, a hub, and a particular type of short-haul network than at Minneapolis-St. Paul.