The Convair 990 had a Short Life

The Convair 990 was a stretch of the Convair 880 that American Airlines requested. But the CV990, named the Coronado, had a short life. The narrowbody, four-engined jet was 10 ft. longer than the 880, giving an increase in passengers of 22 to 110. Although the 990 was 40-56 kph faster than rivals Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, it still had fewer seats and was inefficient in comparison.

The engines had been changed from the original 880 engine of GE CJ-805-3 to GE CJ-805-23 turbofans.

American Airlines reduced its order for the 990s after its specifications were not met and removed it from service after only about five years. The 990 assembly line was shut down in 1963 after only 37 were built.

Shown is Modern Air N5605, bought from American Airlines in March 1967. It was delivered to AA originally in January 1962. Modern Air leased this aircraft to Air France for several months in 1967; it was the only Coronado that Air France flew.