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McDonnell Douglas MD-11 family

The MD-11 story, from first flight to lasting reputation

The final Douglas trijet, built for long-haul passenger and freight work at the edge of a changing market.

McDonnell Douglas MD-11 family is a retired airliner built by McDonnell Douglas. It first flew in 1990, entered service in 1990, and went on to shape airline fleets, passenger journeys, and aviation memory.

First flight

1990

Service entry

1990

Seating band

285 to 410

McDonnell Douglas MD-11 family is a retired airliner by McDonnell Douglas, first flown in 1990 and introduced in 1990, with typical seating for 285 to 410 and range up to 6,700 nautical miles.

Its history runs through the airlines that flew it, the routes it opened, the cabin experience it offered, and the variants that changed the family's role over time.

Range band

6,700 nm

Notable operators

Swissair · KLM · Delta · Finnair

Source stack

  • Manufacturer heritage material
  • type certificate and planning data
  • museum and preservation references

Variants

Representative variants

Manufacturer pageForum hubCompare families

MD11

MD-11

MD-11 is a retired member of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 family, known for the baseline long-haul trijet that carried the whole family story.

Range 6,700 nm · Entry 1990

Specifications

Current public facts

Manufacturer
McDonnell Douglas
Program history
Class
Airliner
Aircraft category
First flight
1990-01-10
Program history
Service entry
1990-12-07
Operator records
Current status
Retired
Fleet references
Typical seating
285 to 410
Operator and cabin references
Range band
Up to 6,700 nm
Program literature
Cruise speed
495 kt
Planning data

Archive moments

Human context

Passenger memories of the MD-11 usually carry a trace of rarity: it looked like a DC-10 evolved beyond its time, then vanished from scheduled cabins sooner than many expected.
Passenger memory matters here because airport routine, cabin atmosphere, and route geography are part of the aircraft story rather than side notes.

Timeline

Program milestones

  1. 1990

    First flight

    The MD-11 begins flight testing and establishes the public shape of the family.

  2. 1990

    Service entry

    The family enters passenger or executive service and begins building its operating footprint.

  3. Today

    Archive afterlife

    Surviving aircraft, photographs, documents, and first-hand memories keep the program visible long after regular passenger service.

Related news

Editorial context

All news
No editorial dispatches are attached to this family yet. The aircraft record is live, and newsroom or archive coverage can be layered onto it later without changing the URL.

Forum threads

Community memory

Family hub