Finnair retires the MD11

It seems not a single week goes by in the world of civil aviation without the start or end of an era. Next week will be no different. On Monday, February 22nd, 2010 Finnair will operate its last ever passenger MD11 flight – AY22 will operate from Delhi to Helsinki. This will bring to a close a very successful twenty year tenure.

With the MD11s gone the average age of Finnair’s aircraft will drop sharply to under six years – easily amongst the youngest fleets in the world. MD11 capacity will be replaced by a combination of A330 and A340 aircraft. This phase-out also marks a major step in AY’s fleet renewal process. The next major step being the arrival of A350s in 2014.

A press release indicates that both of Finnair’s remaining MD11s are for sale but that the idea of converting them to freighters is still being evaluated. Given Finnair’s long term fleet plans, environmental sensitivities, and a soft air cargo market it is all but certain that these aircraft will not operate for Finnair any further in any capacity. It simply wouldn’t make sense. The only other passenger operators of the type are KLM and World Airways [Correction/Update: both of whom are phasing it out neither of whom have publicly expressed any interest in the AY frames.]  All of these signs point to these aircraft finding new homes at either a cargo operator or in the desert.

To see them off in style here are a few Finnair tidbits from around the web.