Originally Posted by
Kachjc
Cathay in my opinion is probably the worst major airline in terms of fleet planning.
The 747 should have been retired a year ago- all of them,and the number of aircraft ordered is barely enough to replace what they are going to retire
A few years ago, the plan
was to retire the entire 744 fleet within 3 years. But when we had a strong 2010, all plans were postponed because of expansion and increase seats and frequency of flights. Summer 2013 will see a dramatic shift of longhauls converting from the 744 to 77W. LHR - 3 out of 4 flights will be 77W while the 4th will remain 744. FRA becomes 77W as well. SFO still holds on with a daily 744.
That leaves JNB as the only longhaul destination. I would not be surprised if it goes daily 77W or A343 at some point.
So with a handful of 744's, those will pretty much go mostly to regional destinations since regional flights are not as fuel thirsty as longhaul ones.
The bright side is on a regional run, you get a better shot of a longhaul product!
Cheers