Jumbo Jet nostalgia (Telegraph article)

Old Jan 6, 2018, 6:25 am
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Jumbo Jet nostalgia (Telegraph article)

An article in the Telegraph on the slow demise of the beloved Jumbo Jet might be of interest to some readers here.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/slow-death-747-where-are-they-now/
The relevance to this forum is that BA has the largest remaining fleet.

Last edited by Amygdala28; Jan 6, 2018 at 6:37 am Reason: insert hyperlink
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 6:35 am
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Nice to get the latest figures.

Has anyone else spotted the errant Antonov in there...
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 7:15 am
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"Cathay has 20" - I don't think so!
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 7:35 am
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Originally Posted by AussieDreaming
"Cathay has 20" - I don't think so!
They have 20 747 freighers. 6 747-400F and 14 747-8F.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 7:36 am
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Originally Posted by AussieDreaming
"Cathay has 20" - I don't think so!
Cathays cargo operation has 20, probably where it comes from
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 7:37 am
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Originally Posted by AussieDreaming
"Cathay has 20" - I don't think so!
No longer used for passenger flights, but if Wikipedia and other sources are correct,still used by their cargo arm.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 11:14 am
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About 1,500 Boeing 747s were ever built. About 500 are still flying, but increasingly the use is for cargo. Not a single North American carrier now uses the 747 for passenger travel (the last was a Delta flight a few days ago).
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 11:31 am
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They cannot demise quick enough for me. Getting way too many of them lately.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 11:57 am
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Always loved being on a 747 to/from the Caribbean, or anywhere else where you get to use steps rather than an airbridge. Magnificent beasts. Think my Easter flights to MBJ with Virgin will give me that pleasure again...

And at the risk of straying OT on the BA board, the Virgin J layout in the nose of their old LHR 747s was definitely one of my favourites. Acres of aisle space!
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 12:05 pm
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Nostalgia? No, it’s just a big aircraft.

Upper Deck on BA... yes, we will miss that.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 1:11 pm
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Originally Posted by noFODplease
Nice to get the latest figures.

Has anyone else spotted the errant Antonov in there...
I spotted it. Now that's an amazing plane.

I'm less nostalgic than most here, but I've only ever flown the upper deck once and that was on QF.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 1:20 pm
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Two things strike me here - since the introduction of the 747 nearly 50 years ago airline speeds have got no faster and what progress there has been has revolved around fuel efficiency and passenger density.

You could argue that both result from the fuel crisis of the mid-70s which put fuel efficiency on the agenda.

However, it also seems to me that airline design must be a pretty larthegic business, if the current iteration of a 50 year old design really is not worse than any modern design and in many ways better.

To my mind much of this is down to how airlines fit out planes, but I personally really enjoy F and UD CW on BA’s 747s. I have absolutely no fondness for F or CW on 777s, A380, 757s, or 767s. I’ve not tried 787s, but I can’t imagine it is a better experience that a 747.

The shame about this are so many idiots crave the new for novelty’s sake that this skews business decisions and leads to the better option being discontinued. It’s a shame that the latest 747-900s (?) didn’t cut it in the market. Now we are doomed to an endless cycle of fashion chasing nonsense, like you get in the pub industry. This week XYZ’s business seat will be so good it bets anyone’s F; next week it will be pass. Meanwhile, perfectly good airframes will be sitting in deserts awaiting scrapage.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 2:35 pm
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Does anyone have any experinces of touring the "graveyards". We are traveling from California to Arizona next month and I see there is one in Mojave that you can drive past to view from the road but more excitingly you can get a tour of the one in Tucson (Tour Boneyard)

We were planning to stay North of phoenix (grand canyon, monument valley - yes I know it will be cold) but now I'm wondering if it's worth a slight change of plans to try to make it down to Tucson...
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 2:37 pm
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Originally Posted by FrancisA
Two things strike me here - since the introduction of the 747 nearly 50 years ago airline speeds have got no faster and what progress there has been has revolved around fuel efficiency and passenger density.

You could argue that both result from the fuel crisis of the mid-70s which put fuel efficiency on the agenda.

However, it also seems to me that airline design must be a pretty larthegic business, if the current iteration of a 50 year old design really is not worse than any modern design and in many ways better.

To my mind much of this is down to how airlines fit out planes, but I personally really enjoy F and UD CW on BAs 747s. I have absolutely no fondness for F or CW on 777s, A380, 757s, or 767s. Ive not tried 787s, but I cant imagine it is a better experience that a 747.

The shame about this are so many idiots crave the new for noveltys sake that this skews business decisions and leads to the better option being discontinued. Its a shame that the latest 747-900s (?) didnt cut it in the market. Now we are doomed to an endless cycle of fashion chasing nonsense, like you get in the pub industry. This week XYZs business seat will be so good it bets anyones F; next week it will be pass. Meanwhile, perfectly good airframes will be sitting in deserts awaiting scrapage.
Airlines dont buy new for noveltys sake, they do it for sound economic reasons. A new interior can be put into an old plane but extensive maintenance checks are needed as the airframe ages so it becomes uneconomic to do so. Im sure BA could keep the 747 flying for a lot longer, but the huge cost of airworthiness checks and their poorer fuel consumption means it just isnt worth it.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 2:47 pm
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I remember seeing those as a kid, when they were quite new, and dreaming of going on the upper deck. I guess I'll have to book that trip in CW sooner rather than later.
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