Stop Retiring Your 747-400’s!

Inevitable as it may be, the number of 747-400’s in service by airlines is shrinking.  There has been a increased amount of announcements of retirement of the Queen of the Skies. United Airlines most recently announced that they may speed up the retirement of their 747’s and park them by the end of 2018.  On a brighter note, British Airways has begun the refreshment process of 18 of it’s jumbos with updated seats, inflight entertainment systems and other features to match its more modern 787 and 777 fleet.  

 So what’s driving the retirement?  The combination of maintenance costs associated with an aging fleet and the availability of more fuel-efficient and technologically advanced aircraft with the likes of the 777-300ER and the A350-1000. 

Decline in ASM(Available Seat Miles) of the 747:

It doesn’t help that the sales of the 747-8 have disappointed to say the least.  Boeing has significantly reduced the build rate from 1 aircraft a month to .5.  It was previously expected to be reduced from 1.3 to 1 frame per month in March.  Boeing cites slowing demand in the air cargo market.  Thru January of 2016, there are only 19 unfilled 747 orders, 7 of those belong to the 747-8F and the remaining are 747-8 models. 

Currently, the top 3 operators of the 747-400:

1.     

Aircraft: 40

Average Age:20.1 Years

Oldest Aircraft: G-BNLF, Delivered 2/28/90

Aircraft: 23

Average Age: 21.4 Years

Oldest Aircraft: PH-BFC, Delivered 9/1/89

Aircraft: 22

Average Age: 20.3 Years

Oldest Aircraft: N174UA, Delivered 1/20/90

 747  Order Book Through January 2016

Take advantage of the remaining fleets and fly the “Queen of the Sky” before they are parked forever.

Sources: Planespotters.net KLM.com united.com ba.com boeing.com

 Image Source: Cory W. Watts/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0