DC-9s to fleet
US LOW-FARE operator ValuJet Airlines has purchased four additional McDonnell Douglas (MDC) DC-9s. The total cost of the aircraft, including installation of hushkits and completion of ValuJet and federal-mandated modifications, is expected to be about $18 million.
The previous operators were Alitalia and SAM, a Colombian airline. ValuJet is purchasing the DC-9s from MDC and Paxford International. The aircraft will start entering service in August.
The purchases will boost ValuJet's fleet to 36 aircraft. It operates 28 DC-9s, and expects delivery of a further four shortly
Earlier this month ValuJet lost a DC-9. Six passengers and one flight attendant were injured when a taxiing aircraft caught fire at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport, Georgia. The fire began when one of two Pratt & Whitney JT8Ds malfunctioned. The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its probe of the incident.
Source: Flight International
