How the MD-88 fits into the MD-80 story
MD-88 is the representative branch of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family, capturing the later branch that stayed visible in U.S. fleets well into the 21st century.
This page isolates the MD-88 branch of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 family, focusing on the engines, service entry, seating, range, and mission role that justify a dedicated variant page while keeping the family history on the canonical parent URL.
Service entry
1988
Seating
149 to 172
Range
2,550 nm
Variant history
Why it branches from the family
The MD-88 is treated as the representative branch because it captures the later branch that stayed visible in U.S. fleets well into the 21st century.
Variant pages stay intentionally narrower than the family page so differences in cabin, engines, mission, and market role remain clear without duplicating the full program history.
Fact rows
Reference snapshot
- ICAO designator
- MD88
- Designator references
- Engines
- JT8D-219
- Type data
- Service entry
- 1988
- Operator records
- Typical seating
- 149 to 172
- Operator layouts
- Range
- 2,550 nm
- Planning data
Return to the family page
Variant pages stay intentionally narrower than family pages. They isolate meaningful technical or commercial differences while the canonical family page holds the broader historical narrative.