The Future of the 747 in US Pax Service?

[sat74]

Anyone have a clue what the future of the 747 is in US passenger service (UAL, NWA)?

It would be a shame to see such a great airplane to disappear from US airlines as the flagship aircraft while the rest of the world continues to fly them!

Thoughts, rumours etc.....??

 

[bobbysamd]

747s

Economics would be a big factor. We all know that pax loads are down across-the-board. It makes one wonder how much of a load factor is needed for a 747 to make money.

What's interesting are some of the passages in Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger, Jr. He opines that even in the late '60s the widebodies were regarded as harmful. The airline bosses wanted them because they were the latest technology - and airline bosses loved technology - but the widebodies lost money.

I agree with you. For the sake of these aircraft alone, it would be sad to see American flag carriers not operate such magnificant examples of technology.

 

[Draginass]

The economics for flying pax in a 747 just aren't there compared to an efficient twin like the 777. The 744 makes a great freighter, however.

 

[typhoonpilot]

I just returned from an interview with a major international airline. They currently operate the B-777 and A-330. One of the things they were saying was that the Airbus 330 and 340 were too small for them. That they couldn't wait for the A-380s to arrive and they would probably end up with 50 of them. They also make a lot of money off of freight and had some issues with the 747 freight capacity. The A-340-600 will be able to carry more pallets than a 747-400.

Four engines airplanes will be around for awhile because there remain routes where even 207 minute ETOPS can't provide a viable route. Not to mention the reluctance of some airlines to push ETOPS that far. The Rolls Royce Trent engines on the 777 and Airbus fleets have had some significant problems. I am sure they will be resolved in time, but they did provide a wake-up call for airlines like Cathay, who had numberous inflight shut downs over a short period of time.

The 747 is still the king across the Pacific and will remain that way for some time to come. So I wouldn't look for NWA or UAL to be getting rid of them anytime soon.

Typhoonpilot