I think it depends on passenger load/cargo load/distance.

Regardless, neither is as efficient as the more recent twin engine long haul aircraft (777-300ER, 787-8, 330-300). And everything currently flying will be less efficient than the next generation of twin engine long haul aircraft.

Considering that the passenger loads and range of the next generation will approach the 744, it is easy to see why the era of the four engine jet airliner as coming to an end.

The 747 is NOT absurd...

From what I heard from some LH people is that they are not very happy with the 748i. LH will fly them but will switch mainly to 777x and A350 in the future. For LH Cargo they will order the 777F instead of the 748f.

I will miss it when it's gone, mainly because it's the plane I'll always associate with my younger days when I first began flying long-haul. I'll always associate the 747 (and, to a lesser extent, the L-10-11) with an era when international air travel was still kind of special. I liked the fact that to board one, you usually walked out onto the tarmac. You'd look up at it and marvel at how enormous it was...you don't get quite the same sense of awe boarding at a modern terminal with jetbridges.

That said, I don't think it's going anywhere. It'll be flying in pretty substantial numbers into the 2020's even if nobody is buying new ones today.

Why is it a blemish, other than for Boeing's business, which presumably spent a lot on developing the variant that it won't recoup?

I thought for sure I would be flying in this one any day now.


http://www.seattlepi.com/mount-raini...ng-3720456.php

Several years ago at LHR, I had disembarked and boarded BA 747s parked far from the T5 terminal.

Watching now...

Always liked the 747.

I don't think the 8I is a blemish as far as the passengers are concerned. Still a great plane...from our perspective, I'm sure it's the best 747 ever built. It'll have the modern interior design, etc. I don't follow the stock enough to know what investors think about it.

Did you look up at it and marvel at its awesomeness? @:-) I also wonder what it must be like to have been on that original 747 design team...if you were a 30-year-old aero engineer in the late 60's, you're 75 now. I wonder if those guys ever take a flight today, look up at the plane, and think "Yeah, we did that, and it changed the world. " I'm sure every element of the plane has been reengineered and modernized multiple times, but it's still the same platform those guys put together eons ago.

Simple answer: No. Boeing has too much invested in it to stop making the 747. Some airlines may drop them in favor of newer technology and more fuel efficient planes but they will continue to show up in use for many airlines for the foreseeable future.

Well, they won't keep making it if nobody is buying it...

But it does seem like there will be some buyers for a while longer...maybe more freight than passenger...

The freight comment has shown up in a few posts on this topic. I met a pilot for Nippon Freight recently who was telling me that they don't like the 747 for freight. He says that it can carry so much weight that their fuel utilization is not very good. In his case, he was flying Japan to Anchorage and then having an overnight stop to refuel before going on. He said on some of the smaller, more fuel efficient aircraft that they can go all the way to Atlanta or Chicago, etc. on a single tank of fuel which means they get to be home more.

But agree the 747 certainly seems to have an ongoing role here.

The 737 entered service before the 747, yet no one is predicting the "end of the 737."

Obviously no one would order a 737-200 these days. The current offerings are substantially different (other than the basic concept).

Whether the current version of the 747 is different enough and relevant enough for today's air travel needs will certainly be decided by the market. But to simply say it's 45 years old, as though that's an adequate explanation, is kind of short-sighted. Heck, the Corvette is 60 years old but no one is predicting its demise, either.

No to mention Lufthansa's. There's an airline that actually thinks the 747-8 is something customers will appreciate.

Yeah loved looking at it from the tarmac, and also loved the so powerful 4-engine take off. It felt so awesome. And at that time, the assurance of having 4 engines was a nice touch too!

I got a chuckle this AM. After reading this thread yesterday, and pulling to Boeing Everett this AM and seeing a fresh 747 in the fuel stall waiting for the paint hangar.