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The MD90 offered and delivered much but in the face of industry consolidation and a limited customer base, the fortunes of the type were always likely to disappoint even if Delta remains the only remaining admirer.
The MD90 represented the final version of a product that can be traced back to the early 1960s when the DC9 was first created. The introduction of the MD80 in the late 1970s inevitably made it necessary for a replacement to emerge by the early 1990s. In the 1980's both Boeing and Airbus had developed new models - the B737-300/400 and A320. A response from McDonnell Douglas (MDC) was vital if the company was to remain competitive. The MD90 was launched in late 1989.
There was much talk of modifying the basic model to encompass a family of aircraft thus enabling the MD90 to more adequately compete with the competition but such were the finances of the company and the weak market conditions of the early 1990s, that no other variants made it beyond the CAD/CAM monitor.
McDonnell Douglas, was number two in the terms of Western aircraft manufacturing at the time of the launch, of the...