A chapter of aviation history came to a close Tuesday when the final two 717s, numbers 155 and 156, were delivered to Midwest Airlines and AirTran Airways respectively, the No. 2 and No. 1 largest customers for the twinjet, which started life as the MD-95 in 1995. The two aircraft took the total number of commercial jets (including KC-10s) built at Long Beach to 3,640. Boeing, which inherited the legacy of Long Beach through its purchase of McDonnell Douglas nine years ago, celebrated the event with a gala dinner for more than 500 Monday, while the handover ceremony Tuesday was framed by a UPS DC-8 Super 73, a Northwest Airlines DC-9-30 and a Dreamflight DC-3 flown in for the occasion.

On hand were notable retirees and past Douglas Aircraft presidents Jack McGowan, John Brizendine Jr., William Gross and Jim Worsham. Representing the Douglas family was Victoria Douglas Thoreson, granddaughter of Donald Douglas Sr. and daughter of Donald Douglas Jr.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Alan Mulally handed over the last two 717s to Air Tran Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard and Midwest Airlines Chairman and CEO Tim Hoeksema. Jim Phillips, former VP and GM of the 717 program, delighted the assembled faithful by announcing that Boeing will retain a considerable amount of Douglas heritage and icons including the famous neon Fly DC-Jets sign in Douglas Park, the office development that will replace the production halls. Production of the C-17 continues on the opposite side of Long Beach Airport.