These images are available for editorial use by news media on boeingmedia.com LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 24, 1999 -- The first AirTran Airways 717-200 made its initial flight today from the Long Beach Municipal Airport, and it will now join the Boeing 717 flight test and certification program.
Painted in the distinctive AirTran colors and with a complete airline interior, the 717 lifted off the runway at 2:54 p.m. (PST) and returned one hour later. At the controls were Capts. Pat O'Donnell and Randy Wyatt, with flight conductor Linda Chism and engineers Mark Mehren and Bob Williams.
"This is a very exciting day for AirTran," said Joe Leonard, chairman, president and chief executive officer of AirTran Airways. "The new Boeing 717s will take us into the next millennium by providing the most modern fleet in the airline industry."
AirTran has ordered 50 of the 100-seat twinjets and holds options for 50 more. The airline is scheduled to receive its first 717 at the end of this summer and seven others by the end of the year. AirTran will receive 12 airplanes in 2000, 12 in 2001 and 18 in 2002. The AirTran 717 will accommodate 117 passengers in a mixed-class configuration - 12 seats in first class and 105 seats in economy class.
The AirTran airplane will be used in the Boeing flight test program to evaluate the 717's functions and reliability in simulated airline operations. The plane joins three other 717s that are making good progress toward regulatory agency certification this summer. To date, the test airplanes combined have recorded 712 flights and 756 flight hours.
The short-range 717-200 is the only new 100-seat airplane currently in production. In addition to the first AirTran airplane, six other customer airplanes are in final assembly at the company's Long Beach facility.
The 717's basic strengths are new technology, low operational costs and low risk. It has the lowest trip and maintenance costs in its class. Passengers will appreciate the airplane's quiet, full-sized, spacious interior. Airport communities will like its ultra low noise and emissions.