I've flown on many big aircraft and plenty of small ones. I've flown on Boeings, Airbuses, and Embraers, Bombardiers and a host of more obscure names.
But until recently I'd never set foot on a Boeing 717, a smaller aircraft that Boeing inherited when it bought McDonnell Douglas in 1995 for $13 billion .
I tend to like really small jets, tolerate regional aircraft, richly enjoy big planes — and dislike the narrow-bodies that do most of the grunt work of hauling passengers around the US on domestic routes these days.
The 717-200, in Delta livery, that I boarded last month for a flight to Detroit from Newark, New Jersey, was a mystery. I wasn't sure what I was strapping into. I had forgotten to quiz Business Insider resident aviation authority, Senior Reporter Ben Zhang, before my flight.
But I figured out quickly what I was dealing with — and then settled back to enjoy the ride. Which was unexpectedly thrilling.
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