VALUJET AIRLINES has purchased nine McDonnell Douglas (MDC) DC-9-30s and two MD-83s in deals which will take its fleet to 58 aircraft by the end of the first quarter of 1997. MDC helped locate the aircraft under the terms of ValuJet's launch order for 50 MDC MD-95s, deliveries of which will not begin until June 1999.
The DC-9s were previously operated by British Midland Airways (three), Grand Airways (two), Sun Jet International (two), Air Aruba (one) and Iberia (one). The MD-83s were previously flown, by Aero-Lloyd and Transwede Airways.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based low-cost carrier now operates 43 DC-9s, with four previously purchased aircraft - including the first three MD-80s - to be delivered by the end of the first quarter of 1996. The first of the latest batch of DC-9s are scheduled to be delivered in the next few weeks.
ValuJet says that it plans to continue expanding its fleet at a rate of one to two aircraft a month, and is therefore in the market for more DC-9s and MD-80s.
A 125% increase in passengers carried by ValuJet Airlines, to 4.6 million in 1995, helped boost traffic to a record 57.7 million passengers, an increase of almost 7% over 1994, at Atlanta, Georgia's, Hartsfield International Airport.
Delta Airlines and its regional affiliate, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, remained the largest carriers at Atlanta, carrying more than 43 million passengers, although ValuJet accounted for two-thirds of the traffic growth.
Hartsfield International claims to be the second-busiest airport in the world, but its traffic is largely domestic. International traffic increased by 4.6% in 1995, to 2.9 million passengers.
Source: Flight International
