call me wild and crazy: bring back the 380 and 747s?
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May 8, 2020, 1:02 pm
#18
Join Date: Dec 2014
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Yesterday......We know the A380 is over" Emirates president Sir Tim Clark declared earlier this week, although for balance he also allowed that the Boeing 747 had similarly seen its day.
"But the A350 and the 787 will always have a place,” Clark told The National, positing a future that belongs to fuel-efficient twin-engine jets, at least where long-range flying and the global networks of hub-based airlines was concerned.
Emirates currently lists 115 Airbus A380s in its fleet, all of which are grounded, and a sweeping fleet review has moved the Airbus A350 (50 on order), Boeing 787-9 (30 on order) and Boeing 777X (126 on order) to centre-stage.
"But the A350 and the 787 will always have a place,” Clark told The National, positing a future that belongs to fuel-efficient twin-engine jets, at least where long-range flying and the global networks of hub-based airlines was concerned.
Emirates currently lists 115 Airbus A380s in its fleet, all of which are grounded, and a sweeping fleet review has moved the Airbus A350 (50 on order), Boeing 787-9 (30 on order) and Boeing 777X (126 on order) to centre-stage.
May 8, 2020, 1:59 pm
#20
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Just how much money does Emirates have ? An A350 is $366.5M($18,325B), a 787-9 is $249.5M($7,485B) and a 777X is $444.2M($55,969B). I realize those are list prices but blimey - that’s a crazy amount of money.
May 8, 2020, 2:45 pm
#22
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 206
I wonder if there are any discussions about brining back the 380/747s (which are all probably available cheap and with oil prices low) to attempt a new major hub model - like originally planed - as airlines continue to figure out how to bring their networks back online?
instead of 10 daily SFO-EWR 737-800s that are each half full... fly a couple of packed 747s?
-m
instead of 10 daily SFO-EWR 737-800s that are each half full... fly a couple of packed 747s?
-m
May 8, 2020, 4:00 pm
#23
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 121
I wonder if there are any discussions about bringing back the 380/747s (which are all probably available cheap and with oil prices low)
I always felt reassured crossing the Atlantic or Pacific oceans in a 747 as opposed to the twin engined alternatives - I know there shouldn't be any issue with ETOPS certification, but having 3 engines instead of 1 after a failure is definitely comforting!
Last edited by mguinness; May 8, 2020 at 4:59 pm
May 8, 2020, 4:31 pm
#24
Join Date: Sep 2014
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May 8, 2020, 5:48 pm
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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No need to. They are smart enough to figure out themselves.
https://samchui.com/2020/05/07/emira...-747-are-over/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michael.../#4b01514c336a
https://samchui.com/2020/05/07/emira...-747-are-over/
May 8, 2020, 7:50 pm
#27
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May 8, 2020, 10:00 pm
#28
Join Date: Apr 2012
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Airlines around the world are trying to get rid of 4-engine planes. VS announced retiring all 747s recently and AF and LH are doing the same on the A380. SQ is considering whether there is actually a need to bring back A380 post Covid-19. UA is looking to have 787 be the backbone of its long-haul fleet and retire some of the 777s. CX, LH and others are considering cancellation or postponement of larger 777X order.
There are many A380 parked coming off the leases that have no takers and lessors have to take a huge loss writing them off.
Unless the airlines around the world are getting it totally wrong, I believe the fate of large 4-engine passenger jets is written in concrete.
The word " packing" is used in the OP is not reflecting the sentiment of the flying public in general in the current environment. Of course, who knows what may happen post Covid-19 in terms of "packing" into the planes. Time will tell.
There are many A380 parked coming off the leases that have no takers and lessors have to take a huge loss writing them off.
Unless the airlines around the world are getting it totally wrong, I believe the fate of large 4-engine passenger jets is written in concrete.
The word " packing" is used in the OP is not reflecting the sentiment of the flying public in general in the current environment. Of course, who knows what may happen post Covid-19 in terms of "packing" into the planes. Time will tell.