The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 has not seen passenger service for ten years, but is still an active cargo type with a number of airlines.
Envisaged as a modern replacement to the DC-10, sales were never as fruitful as the manufacturer hoped and more economical twin-jet types soon gained more prominence.
KLM was the last airline to fly the MD-11 in passenger service, and retired the type in October 2014.
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Who Flies the MD-11 Today?
Today there are some 82 active MD-11s around the world, with only three operators.
These aircraft are all in freighter configuration. They are a mix of converted former passenger jets, and those built as freighters from scratch.
The operators of the MD-11 in 2024 are:
- FedEx Express (34 aircraft)
- UPS Airlines (31 aircraft)
- Western Global Airlines (17 aircraft)
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Where Does the MD-11 Fly?
Of the three airlines still flying the type, each flies the type primarily from their home bases. Namely:
- Memphis, TN for Fedex
- Louisville, KY for UPS
- Fort Myers, FL for Western Global
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However, with each airline operating from a number of hubs around the world, their aircraft can be found flying from the following:
FedEx:
![By Montague Smith [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) or GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.airportspotting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/MD-11-FedEx1-1024x681.jpg)
By Montague Smith [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) or GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
- Anchorage Ted Stevens, AK
- Boston Logan, MA
- Chicago O’Hare, IL
- Cologne/Bonn, Germany
- Dallas Ft Worth, TX
- Denver, CO
- Detroit Wayne, MI
- Dubai World Central, UAE
- Guangzhou, China
- Honolulu, HI
- Houston Intercontinental, TX
- Indianapolis, IN
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- Minneapolis St Paul, MN
- Newark, NJ
- New Orleans, LA
- Oakland, CA
- Ontario, CA
- Osaka Kansai, Japan
- Paris Charles de Gaulle, France
- Philadelphia, PA
- Phoenix Sky Harbox, AZ
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Portland, OR
- Salt Lake City, UT
- San Jose, CA
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Seattle Tacoma, WA
- Tampa, FL
- Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Toronto, Canada
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UPS:
- Atlanta, GA
- Baltimore Washington, MD
- Dallas Ft Worth, TX
- Harrisburg, PA
- Honolulu, HI
- Houston Intercontinental, TX
- Miami, FL
- Milwaukee, WI
- Minneapolis St Paul, MN
- Newark, NJ
- Oakland, CA
- Ontario, CA
- Orlando International, FL
- Philadelphia, PA
- Phoenix Sky Harbor, AZ
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Portland, OR
- Raleigh-Durham, NC
- Richmond, VA
- Seattle Boeing Field, WA
- Tampa, FL
- Toronto, Canada
- Washington Dulles, VA
- Windsor Locks, CT
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Western Global:
Photo (c) Kwok Ho Eddie Wong
The airline’s hubs are:
- Anchorage Ted Stevens International, AK
- Miami, FL
- Hong Kong
- Los Angeles, CA
- Seoul Incheon, South Korea
- Plus their maintenance base at Shreveport, LA.
A quick look at recent flights by Western Global’s MD-11 fleet sees them serving destinations such as
- Bahrain
- Charleston, SC
- Columbus, OH
- Djibouti
- Dover, DE
- Norfolk, VA
- Okinawa, Japan
- Ostend, Belgium
- Ramstein, Germany
- Rota, Spain
- Rzeszow, Poland
- Sigonella, Italy
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It seems that if you live near one of the major US hub airports, you have a good chance of seeing regular MD-11 flights still. Overseas, however, flights are concentrated in very few places, like Japan, China, Francce and Germany.
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What are your memories of the MD-11? Did you ever fly one? Do you see them regularly at your local airport? Leave a comment below!
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1 comment
Worked at McDonnell Douglas from 1987-1992. Have the privilege to work on the last 10 DC-10’s and transition to the MD-11’s assembly lines. Installing the Flight control, slats, flaps, cargo doors, etc. Research and Development, avionics cooling systems. Work with good people, dedicated to their works. In 2005, I flew back in one of them from Kuwait to the states. Smooth flight, it was. Now in 2024, I can see them landing the Tulsa airport.