End of the jumbo: British Airways retires 747 fleet early on coronavirus woes

[snoop1130]

End of the jumbo: British Airways retires 747 fleet early on coronavirus woes

By Sarah Young and Maria Ponnezhath

 

FILE PHOTO: A British Airways Boeing 747-400 taxis at San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, February 14, 2015. REUTERS/Louis Nastro

 

LONDON/BENGALURU (Reuters) - British Airways, the world's largest operator of Boeing 747s, will retire its entire jumbo jet fleet with immediate effect after the novel coronavirus pandemic sent air travel into freefall.

 

For over 50-years, Boeing's <BA.N> "Queen of the Skies" has been the world's most easily recognised jetliner with its humped fuselage and four engines, but its days had already been numbered before the pandemic struck earlier this year.

 

BA had been planning to retire the aircraft in 2024 but with passenger numbers decimated this year and forecasts that it will be years before they recover, the airline said it was unlikely its 747s would ever operate commercially for it again.

 

"It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect," BA said in a statement on Thursday.

 

The 747 plane democratized global air travel in the 1970s but fell behind modern twin-engine aircraft and now trails newer planes in fuel efficiency, making it expensive to run.

 

"While the aircraft will always have a special place in our heart, as we head into the future we will be operating more flights on modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as our new A350s and 787s," BA added.

 

The chief executive of British Airways has said the company, which is owned by IAG <ICAG.L>, faces a battle for survival because of the pandemic, which has meant travel restrictions have been in place across the globe for most of this year.

 

BA has said it needs to cut up to 12,000 jobs, or about 28% of its workforce, to prepare for the smaller travel market expected over the coming years.

 

The Sun reported last month that BA had reached an agreement with its pilots to sack 350 and another 300 in 'pool' for rehiring when needed. The majority of pilots being 'pooled' were expected to be the jumbo jet first officers.

 

U.S.-based Boeing and its suppliers signalled the end of the plane, when they set the final number of parts it would need for the 747 jumbo jet program at least a year ago.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-17

 

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[Dumbastheycome]

This news  coincides with a thought that occurred  to myself  just a few days  back.

With the collapse/stalling of the  commercial  passenger industry it  has  been strangely  quiet about the position of  Boeing when it comes on top of the  Max 8 disaster. For that  matter  Airbus  too  because  the  cancellation of  orders and  cessation of  leasing throughout the whole industrial gambit  of air travel must be a  huge  hit!

 

[Justgrazing]

The fact the old girl is still going after 50 yrs is a testament to rightness of the original design .. sturdy , reliable with an iconic silhouette viewed from any angle ,.

But time waits for no one and sadly once the valuable bits have been removed most will meet an inglorious end in an aircraft breakers ..

 

 

[expat_4_life]

The fleet that is being retired consists of 60 747-400 and was first introduced in 1989.

[Burma Bill]

Anyone remember these days when British Airways 'Jumbos" sported ethnic art on their tails?? Famously upsetting Margaret Thatcher who stated that the British flag should be shown (as photo in original article)!!

 

[elliss]

On 7/18/2020 at 2:40 PM, Burma Bill said:

Anyone remember these days when British Airways 'Jumbos" sported ethnic art on their tails?? Famously upsetting Margaret Thatcher who stated that the British flag should be shown (as photo in original article)!!

 

 

           Thatcher was spot on . 

           BA,  lost credibility , by  using these mickey mouse , logos .

          Ethnic art my <deleted> ..

            

Edited July 19, 2020 by elliss

[worgeordie]

The Jumbo was a good plane to fly in, a great improvement over the 707

most planes now seem to be flying about with 2 engines,long distances too.

regards worgeordie

[kingofthemountain]

16 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

The Jumbo was a good plane to fly in,

Sorry but i have to disagree with that

the economy class was a real nightmare, with unconfortable chairs 

very minimum space for each passenger, and the noise in the cabin

from the engines was huge.

On all this points the Airbus A380 was a real big improvment

[bert bloggs]

3 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

Sorry but i have to disagree with that

the economy class was a real nightmare, with unconfortable chairs 

very minimum space for each passenger, and the noise in the cabin

from the engines was huge.

On all this points the Airbus A380 was a real big improvment

you should have tried Concord ,that was a pig ,

[worgeordie]

2 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

Sorry but i have to disagree with that

the economy class was a real nightmare, with unconfortable chairs 

very minimum space for each passenger, and the noise in the cabin

from the engines was huge.

On all this points the Airbus A380 was a real big improvment

First Class .... the A380 is a much more modern plane,so it's bound to be better

regards worgeordie

Edited July 19, 2020 by worgeordie

[Tug]

All good things must pass good service old girl thankyou you opened up the world

[Damrongsak]

I didn't care much for the 747, though it's a good aircraft.  It was not fun flying into the old Hong Kong airport seemingly meters above the apartment buildings on the hills.  It was like dive bombing.  One could almost read the labels in the underwear hanging out on the balconies to dry. It was like flying in a shopping mall with wings, they are so big.

 

I did like one nearly empty late-night flight from LA to New York on the way back from Thailand.  My wife and I each had a row of middle seats all to ourselves, so we could lay down.  Food and drinks were left in the galley - self service.  And we bought the tickets at standby price.

[Baerboxer]

15 hours ago, worgeordie said:

The Jumbo was a good plane to fly in, a great improvement over the 707

most planes now seem to be flying about with 2 engines,long distances too.

regards worgeordie

 

Indeed. Loved flying in the Upstairs business class seats. Flying on business was so nice then (early 90's). Always flew back from Bangkok to London on BA. Out on Cathay to HK 3 weeks earlier. 

 

Flying is just a pain in the <deleted> now!

[Baerboxer]

11 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

I didn't care much for the 747, though it's a good aircraft.  It was not fun flying into the old Hong Kong airport seemingly meters above the apartment buildings on the hills.  It was like dive bombing.  One could almost read the labels in the underwear hanging out on the balconies to dry. It was like flying in a shopping mall with wings, they are so big.

 

I did like one nearly empty late-night flight from LA to New York on the way back from Thailand.  My wife and I each had a row of middle seats all to ourselves, so we could lay down.  Food and drinks were left in the galley - self service.  And we bought the tickets at standby price.

 

I agree with that about the old HK airport. I used to catch a flight that landed just before 8 am and still remember seeing in windows and actually seeing people moving about in the sky scraper flats. Scary.

 

They had a China Airways 747 that has fallen into the sea off the runway and been hauled out near to where you disembarked for the buses to the terminal. All rusty and spooky looking. Seemed like it was there for ages too.

[RuamRudy]

15 hours ago, worgeordie said:

The Jumbo was a good plane to fly in, a great improvement over the 707

most planes now seem to be flying about with 2 engines,long distances too.

regards worgeordie

I always found upstairs very noisy - the rush of wind seemed much louder than downstairs. 

[ballpoint]

16 hours ago, worgeordie said:

The Jumbo was a good plane to fly in, a great improvement over the 707

most planes now seem to be flying about with 2 engines,long distances too.

regards worgeordie

Nothing wrong with planes with 2 engines.  It's been proven that, if one fails then the other always has enough power to make it to the crash site.

[Damrongsak]

5 hours ago, ballpoint said:

Nothing wrong with planes with 2 engines.  It's been proven that, if one fails then the other always has enough power to make it to the crash site.

And they are so efficient, they have enough fuel to get there.

[GinBoy2]

3 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

And they are so efficient, they have enough fuel to get there.

So I'm going to be a bit aviation nerdy here, since I work for an airline.

 

The twin engine era is based on the concept of ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) which specifies how far an aircraft can fly to a diversion airport on one engine.

 

Over time these standards have evolved to give greater range.

 

Every captain has whats called the release document, giving him/her the fuel load, passenger and cargo manifest plus the diversion airports en route.

 

For trans oceanic routes those diversion airfields must be within the ETOPS rating of the aircraft  

[Stargeezr]

I have always enjoyed flying on the B747, even in economy, as the seats were okay if

you chose a window or ailse seat. The leg room was good if you were not over 6 feet tall.

  These huge airliners will make great cargo haulers and will be in the skies for many

years to come.  They flew okay on 3 engines and even glided to runways on 2 engines

when they were starved of fuel.  I am now a big fan of the B787, quiet ride and

very comfortable for even a long flight.

Geezer

[GinBoy2]

On 7/20/2020 at 10:51 AM, Stargrazer9889 said:

I have always enjoyed flying on the B747, even in economy, as the seats were okay if

you chose a window or ailse seat. The leg room was good if you were not over 6 feet tall.

  These huge airliners will make great cargo haulers and will be in the skies for many

years to come.  They flew okay on 3 engines and even glided to runways on 2 engines

when they were starved of fuel.  I am now a big fan of the B787, quiet ride and

very comfortable for even a long flight.

Geezer

I would absolutely agree that the 747 will be in the air for many more years, re-configured for cargo.

 

There has, unlike the A380, also developed a fairly healthy secondary market in the charter airline business, which again will mean we will see these beauties flying for many a long year to come 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/20/2020 at 1:53 AM, elliss said:

 

           Thatcher was spot on . 

           BA,  lost credibility , by  using these mickey mouse , logos .

          Ethnic art my <deleted> ..

            

Must have been PC back then too. What was wrong with putting British art on the tails?

 

I used to go to the London Thames parade every year and not a single evidence that it was being held in England.

Shameful.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/21/2020 at 4:51 AM, Stargrazer9889 said:

I have always enjoyed flying on the B747, even in economy, as the seats were okay if

you chose a window or ailse seat. The leg room was good if you were not over 6 feet tall.

  These huge airliners will make great cargo haulers and will be in the skies for many

years to come.  They flew okay on 3 engines and even glided to runways on 2 engines

when they were starved of fuel.  I am now a big fan of the B787, quiet ride and

very comfortable for even a long flight.

Geezer

I much preferred the 747 to the 777 which was the other plane I flew on, other than the 380 ( twice only, thank goodness ) which I despise.

[bodga]

On 7/20/2020 at 12:55 PM, RuamRudy said:

I always found upstairs very noisy - the rush of wind seemed much louder than downstairs. 

Thats the trouble  with eating on a  flight

[bodga]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I much preferred the 747 to the 777 which was the other plane I flew on, other than the 380 ( twice only, thank goodness ) which I despise.

I regularly  flew the A380  lovely  plane, only  upstairs  mind, cant abide the horrors  of the lower deck

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/17/2020 at 10:34 PM, snoop1130 said:

The 747 plane democratized global air travel in the 1970s

In other words it made it possible for the hordes to invade once beautiful countries and destroy them, as has happened with Thailand, IMO.

 

On 7/17/2020 at 10:34 PM, snoop1130 said:

BA has said it needs to cut up to 12,000 jobs, or about 28% of its workforce, to prepare for the smaller travel market expected over the coming years.

Good news for anyone that loves the planet.

[elliss]

14 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

In other words it made it possible for the hordes to invade once beautiful countries and destroy them, as has happened with Thailand, IMO.

     

      Airbus 380 along with Boeing 747 , cattle class, made Thailand affordable , for CC,s..

      Attracting the wrong type of person, sex tourists , etc ..

 

[JeffersLos]

Ageless planes.

 

As is Concorde. 

 

 

Metal with windows can have soul.

 

No, we're not looking at you, A380. 

[MaxYakov]

Maybe it will survive in the future as a cargo carrier if the "cargo" is not the self-loading variety.

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, elliss said:

     

      Airbus 380 along with Boeing 747 , cattle class, made Thailand affordable , for CC,s..

      Attracting the wrong type of person, sex tourists , etc ..

 

LOL. Sex tourists would come even if it was more expensive. My beef is with the flashpackers for whom the beaches were destroyed. The horde arrived after LOS was already ruined as an attractive destination.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 7/23/2020 at 3:38 AM, GinBoy2 said:

There has, unlike the A380, also developed a fairly healthy secondary market in the charter airline business, which again will mean we will see these beauties flying for many a long year to come 

From the OP

U.S.-based Boeing and its suppliers signalled the end of the plane, when they set the final number of parts it would need for the 747 jumbo jet program at least a year ago.

 

Can't fly a plane with no spares available.