With the phasing out of the Boeing 717 machine from the Spanish low-cost airline Volotea, an era ends in Europe. For several years this airline had been the only operator of the medium-haul jet developed under the direction of McDonnell Douglas. Now the rear-wheel drive jets await the desert.

With only 156 units built, the Boeing 717 has always been a rare jet. It was originally developed as the McDonnell Douglas MD-95 and renamed the B717 after the merger with Boeing. It was also the last type of civilian machine to be manufactured in the traditional factory in Long Beach.

In Europe there were never many operators of this type anyway and in recent years the Boeing 717 was only to be found at Volotea. Outside of this continent there are still operators in Australia and the United States, but there, too, the two-jet engine is threatened with extinction in the next few years. However, it cannot be ruled out that one or the other machine could end up with a provider specializing in ACMI services. You never really know.

Volotea told Aviation Direct that the last commercial use of the remaining seven Boeing 717s was on Sunday. The machines are now being prepared for return to the lessor at Venice Airport. There is no exact date yet, but the future parking space is fixed: the seven Boeing 717s are to wait for better times in the Mojave Desert. This is the end of an era for Volotea, because the company grew with this guy. The successor, the Airbus A319, has been in the fleet for some time.