Wright | 1981-2001 | McDonnell Douglas MD-80

As the airline industry was deregulated and Wright saw the need to expand its network while also consolidating its operations into hubs, the airline's management realized that larger aircraft would be needed to upguage some routes. Consequently, orders were placed for ten DC-9 Super 80 jets (soon to become the MD-80) and ten options, the first of which entered service in 1981. Over the next two years, the remaining nine were delivered but the options were cancelled due to the airline's deteriorating financial situation.

The MD-80s introduced Wright's first post-deregulation livery, which was applied to the fleet incrementally from 1980 to 1985 despite the financial difficulties, and featured bill-board style titles in an attempt to help the airline's aircraft stand out. By early 1986 it seemed like Wright might not last much longer due to the intense competition on some of its major routes. Many services were streamlined and several routes were cut in an attempt to slash rising costs. Unfortunately, these efforts had little effect and the airline lurched closer to bankruptcy.

Fortunately, the airline's president decided to bring in a young operations manager (Carl M. Steele) who had previously been successful at a small commuter airline on the West Coast. He also helped develop a pertnership between new investors and employees in which employees would own a significant portion of the restructured company. Meanwhile, Mr. Steele developed a new plan for operations which emphasized a quality customer experience, more efficient use of aircraft, and a focus on underserved markets that had been left behind by the major carriers. Essentally, he realized that Wright did not have the resources or finances to compete directly with the major airlines. Thus, the company would work around its largest competitors by flying from smaller hub airports and operating a supplementary point-to-point network.

The new plan and restructuring went into effect in late-1986 and by the end of 1989 things were definitely looking up for Wright. Most of the smaller DC-9-10 jets were sold or leased out while the DC-9-30 and MD-81 became the backbones of the fleet, with the DC-9s being used on most routes and the MD-81s operating the longer or more dense routes to major cities such as New York, Denver, and Phoenix.

Ship 388 (N388WR) was delivered to Wright in 1982 and served with the company until 1998 when it was replaced by an MD-90. It was equipped with 16 First and 120 Coach seats and later offered Airfone service once the system was installed in the late 1980s.

1980-1989 livery