Stick A Fork In It, It's Done, Boeing Ends 747 Production (flight attendant)
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I remember my Dad being very excited about the 747 when it was coming out. He worked for Pan Am and brought home the plans (schematics? blue prints? dunno...I was very young) and went over and over them.
More accurately, Boeing stops taking new orders for the 747 (because there aren't any) and will end production when current orders are filled - in about two years.
More accurately, Boeing stops taking new orders for the 747 (because there aren't any) and will end production when current orders are filled - in about two years.
For a plane that was designed by 'the second string' and only expected to have 5-10 years of passenger service before being replaced by the supersonic transport and delegated to cargo service it seems to have had a good run.
All the load factor comparisons appear to be based on passenger loads. Will the big twins be able to replace it on long haul cargo?
The Queen of the Skies will always have a special place in aviation history for the way she opened up so much fo the world for long haul travel. And will probably live on for decades more in cargo operations.
Sort of a sad bit of irony that it was B-747 that helped mark end of Pan Am...
IIRC between deregulation (which exposed their lack of domestic routes among other things), and rising fuel prices flying those big and beautiful birds became an Achilles heel for Pan Am.
The downing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie played a big part in Pan Am's demise as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bus man
If you want to know why the 747 is heading off into the sunset, here's the unglamorous answer:
Consider that a 777-300 is not that much smaller than a 747-400 in terms of seating capacity. On British Airways, for example, the former seats 299 while the latter seats 345. Those extra 46 seats on the 747 don't come close to making up the extra $20,000 per hour or so that the plane costs to operate.
The 747 is a beautiful plane, and her place in the history of aviation is assured. But her time has come and gone.
There will be 747's flying in cargo service for decades. The volume of freight a 747 can carry is unmatched by ant other plane that's available in any quantity.
747's can land and takeoff in smaller places because we all know they takeoff and land at the same 60mph. The big bird will always have a place in aviation because it brought travel to the masses, as well as shorts and flip flops. The jumbo is a great cargo bird and can hold 200,000 lbs of whatever you can stuff in it. NWA at LAX could unload the jumbo in 45 minutes with the automated floors installed in the birds............
Anybody in the industry has great memories of 747's and HNL and the beaches...........and cheap hotel rates.........
In the late 80's I flew on an Aer Lingus 747 from Boston to Shannon to Dublin. On the fight they announced that this flight would be the last use of a 747 by Aer Lingus. They gave each passenger a commentrative piece of china.
Flown quite a few long haul flights but once on 747. When working I flew Houston to Singapore a good number of times as we ran a lot of Asia out of Singapore so I had a small staff there. Routing was Houston to Tokyo on Continental 777. We were bumped up to top class on long flights by company policy and we got the miles on our own account from the airline. Continental dominated Houston in those days and I liked staying on their partner when they did not cover a route, ie Tokyo to Singapore. NWA was a partner and flew the 747 on the missing leg but for some reason it was next to impossible to get on that NWA flight but once I did.
First class seat I got was in the nose of the plane. Compared to the 777 it was a rattle trap, I much preferred the 777. But the 747 owned the skies on Asia out of Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong in those days. Seemed like over half the flights were this big bird. Bust more times than not I got had to take JAL an older rattle trap L1011 or DC10 I dont recall now.
Its amazing the long run this bird had recall seeing the ordeal of design and production of it and how Boeing had everything riding on this thing at the time. Seems like none of the new planes are going to dominate as long as the 747 did. The end of a legend.
747's can land and takeoff in smaller places because we all know they takeoff and land at the same 60mph. The big bird will always have a place in aviation because it brought travel to the masses, as well as shorts and flip flops. The jumbo is a great cargo bird and can hold 200,000 lbs of whatever you can stuff in it. NWA at LAX could unload the jumbo in 45 minutes with the automated floors installed in the birds............
Anybody in the industry has great memories of 747's and HNL and the beaches...........and cheap hotel rates.........
We all know ... 60MPH. No we all don't know and apparently neither do you! Approach VREF is weight-related but a good average is 155 knots (178 MPH) on short final, slowing as you come over the hedge (threshold) for touchdown. Touchdown is not a common number but is around 140 MPH. Rotate speed is similar, around 160 knots.
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