Yes—the MD-95 became the Boeing 717 after Boeing’s merger with McDonnell Douglas. See what changed, what stayed the same, and how simulators label it.
Yes. In real-world aviation, the MD-95 and Boeing 717 are the same basic aircraft programme. McDonnell Douglas developed the MD-95 as a modern, short-fuselage member of the DC-9 family; after Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, Boeing renamed it the 717-200. Production aircraft were delivered under the Boeing name.
Why did the MD-95 become the Boeing 717?
The name changed because the Boeing–McDonnell Douglas merger occurred before the aircraft entered airline service. Boeing inherited the programme, completed its development and certification, and marketed the finished airliner as the Boeing 717-200.
This was principally a manufacturer and marketing change, not the replacement of the MD-95 with an unrelated Boeing design. Our account of Boeing’s merger-era aircraft history explains how the programme fitted into the enlarged company.
| Aspect | MD-95 | Boeing 717-200 |
|---|---|---|
| Name used for | Development and pre-merger marketing | Certification, production and airline service |
| Company | McDonnell Douglas | Boeing |
| Aircraft programme | Short-haul DC-9-family derivative | The completed version of that same programme |
| Airline deliveries | None under the MD-95 commercial designation | Production aircraft delivered as the 717-200 |
Did Boeing change the MD-95 design?
Boeing completed and refined the inherited programme, but the 717 was not a clean-sheet replacement for the MD-95. The defining design remained a narrow-body, T-tailed airliner with rear-mounted Rolls-Royce BR715 turbofans and a two-pilot glass cockpit.
Normal engineering changes continued during development and production. Consequently, specifications from an early MD-95 proposal may differ from those of a completed 717 in areas such as weights, equipment or cabin options. Those revisions reflect the normal path from proposal to certified aircraft rather than two distinct airliner types.
Is the Boeing 717 just a renamed MD-80?
No. The 717 shares its fuselage cross-section and general ancestry with the DC-9, MD-80 and MD-90, but it is not simply an MD-80 carrying a Boeing badge. The MD-95 was conceived as a smaller, modern successor for short-haul routes, and Boeing retained that design when it renamed the programme.
For comparison with Boeing’s other passenger jets, our guide to the Boeing commercial aircraft range places the 717 in the correct product lineage.
What does MD-95 mean in a flight simulator?
An add-on labelled MD-95 normally represents the Boeing 717-200, but that naming equivalence does not make different add-on files interchangeable. A repaint, panel or flight model must still be made for the exact base package and simulator version being used.
For example, our FSX Aerostar 717-200 listing identifies the aircraft with its MD-95 origins, while the X-Plane 717 AI traffic pack uses the same lineage. The latter is an AI package, so it should not be mistaken for a flyable cockpit aircraft.
A common installation mistake is placing a 717 repaint into another developer’s 717 or MD-95 model. Even though both depict the same real aircraft, their texture names, UV mapping, animations and folder structures may differ. Check the required base model rather than relying on the MD-95 or 717 label alone.