US-based ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines presently operates a fleet consisting entirely of Airbus twinjets. These will continue to play a key role at the airline in years to come, with orders in place for multiple A320neo family variants. However, did you know that, earlier in its history, Spirit also flew several designs from the rear-engined McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family? Let's examine this sub-fleet.

The MD-81 and MD-82

According to historical fleet data made available by ch-aviation, Spirit Airlines flew six examples of the MD-81 over the years. This variant was the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family's first production model, and it entered service in 1980 with Swissair. Spirit took its first MD-81, registered as N806NK, back in June 1999. The sixth and final example, N819NK, came onboard 18 months later, in December 2000.

All of these twinjets had relatively short stints at the airline, with the first of them leaving the carrier after just over five years, back in September 2004. Three more left Spirit Airlines in 2005, and N811NK was the last to depart, doing so in August 2006 to bring a seven-year working relationship with the type to an end. On the other hand, Spirit's MD-82s, which had better engines, stayed a little longer.

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Indeed, the 12 examples of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 that the airline flew began arriving at Spirit before the MD-81s, and finished leaving at a later date. N801NK was the first to come onboard, joining Spirit in August 1998. August 2001 marked the arrival of N823NK, the 12th and final example. They left Spirit between September 2004 (N816NK) and November 2006 (N803NK, N815NK, and N821NK).

The least and most numerous variants

But what were the least and most numerous variants of the MD-80 family flown by Spirit around the turn of the century? When it comes to rarer versions, the Florida-headquartered ultra-low-cost carrier operated just a single example of the short-fuselage MD-87. This jet joined in December 1997 as N750RA, but was quickly re-registered as N807NK. It left in August 2002, and last flew for AMAC Corporate Jet.

Meanwhile, Spirit's most numerous variant from the MD-80 series was the MD-83 model. This twinjet shared the MD-81 and MD-82's dimensions, but had a greater operational range thanks to its increased fuel capacity. 17 served Spirit, and they arrived between July 1998 (N802NK) and February 2004 (N836NK). They left between June 2004 (N826NK) and November 2006 (N832NK).

In terms of how Spirit used its MD-80 family aircraft, we can take a look at a quick data snapshot from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Using the month of August 2004 as an example, the data shows that the budget carrier scheduled some 3,950 flights with these rear-engined twinjets that month. The busiest routes were Fort Lauderdale - New York LaGuardia (180 flights) and Detroit - Orlando (99).

A look at Spirit's present-day fleet

Let's conclude by taking a quick look at how Spirit's fleet looks now that it has moved on from the MD-80 family. In the end, it eventually replaced the 'mad dogs' with aircraft from the Airbus A320ceo ('Current Engine Option') series. Data from ch-aviation shows that it now flies 111 aircraft from this family, namely 17 A319s, 64 A320s, and 30 A321s. It also has newer jets at its disposal.

Spirit Airbus A320neo Landing In Phoenix
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

Indeed, the remaining 96 aircraft in Spirit's 207-plane fleet are aircraft from the new Airbus A320neo ('New Engine Option) family, comprising 85 A320neos and 11 A321neos. It has another 40 and 71 units of these aircraft types on order, respectively. Spirit also previously had an order in place for the short-fuselage A319neo model, but converted these purchases to the A321neo last year.

Did you know that Spirit used to fly aircraft from the MD-80 family? Perhaps you even traveled on one yourself back in the day? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

  • Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-232 N602NK.
    Spirit Airlines
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    NK/NKS
    Airline Type:
    Ultra-Low-Cost Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Harry Reid International Airport, Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Atlantic City International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1983
    CEO:
    Test Christie
    Country:
    United States
    Loyalty Program:
    Free Spirit