Boeing 747 - it was nice knowin ya!

[Moonman62]

There’s very little demand for the 747 anymore. Planes with four engines have been on the decline for many years. Engines are more reliable and powerful these days, so only two are needed and much more economical than four.

[oh8eleven]

Only did one round trip on a 747 (NY-Tokyo), but compared to all of the many jets I've been on, it was one sweet ride.
Most impressive was the take off ... wheels off the ground and whooosh straight up!

[discostu]

Time marches on, old airframes become post dated, orders switch to the new frames, icons become dinosaurs.

[DesertRhino]

747 has nearly double the seating capacity in a standard layout.

[Moonman62]

What’s wrong with the 787? I’ve flown all over Asia on them. Awesome planes, those.

...

They are, but they are a huge financial mistake for Boeing. If they remain popular for 20 years Boeing may break even on them.

[RayChuang88]

One of the last 747-8s to roll off the assembly line, if not the very last, will be replacement aircraft for Air Force One.

Correct. It's likely the last two 747's ever built will be the replacement for the VC-25A that have served the USAF since 1989.

What will replace the 747? Mostly likely, 777-8 and 777-9. The 777-8 will likely spawn a 777-8F freighter version.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I e always enjoyed flying on the 747. It was just incredible in the early 70s. I remember taking the Everett plant tour around 1975 and seeing them getting built. I still can see the videos of the wing stress tests and the test takeoff with too much rotation and the tail dragging a couple of hundred yards down the runway. Spectacular!

The FAA rerouted international flights in the SF Bay Area and I’m now treated to several a day making u-turns over my house at 5,000 feet. Good God they are LOUD.

[Mears]

My daughter took the Boeing plant tour about a year ago and said the security was very intense.

Was in the same way in 1975?

.

.

[DFG]

If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going.

[TRY ONE]

Qantas told me the 380 is used on L.A. - Sydney runs but it does not have the capacity to go Sydney - Dallas. The 747 is required for that, and I have taken it many times.

[The KG9 Kid]

The flight I took to Europe on a 787 Dreamliner is by far the best flying experience I've ever had. San Francisco to London in United Business First sleeper cabin.

The 787's LED interior lighting that simulates the position of the sun in your destination's time zone and the cabin pressurization that is tuned to simulate 4500' altitude instead of 7500' altitude makes for a cruise ship-like journey. I think the 787 is the passenger jet by which all others are judged.

Only other long distance flight I've had that was as comfortable was flying a Dutch KLM red eye flight in an nearly empty 747 that was apparently ferrying cargo to Amsterdam instead of passengers. First class was filled, but the rest of the plane had maybe twenty passengers onboard. I took a whole six-person row to myself and made a little fort out of pillows and blankets. Like flying to Europe sleeping on a living room couch. Wasn't bad at all. The cabin crew were really happy to be going home with very little to do so they just uncorked a few bottles of champagne and set it out for "Serve yourself" while they slept.

I've had some pretty miserable flights too, I admit.

[PAR35]

It was my understanding that the 747 was the only jumbo that could make it that far

The longest range 747 doesn't even make the top 5.

"The Boeing 777-200LR is the world's longest range airliner with a range of 17,395km (9,395nmi). The aircraft was rolled out by Boeing in February 2005 and can carry 301 passengers in a typical three-class configuration."

"The A340-500 is the world's second longest range airliner, allowing for a maximum distance of 16,670km (9,000nmi) with flight durations of up to 19 hours."

"The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with a range of 14,800km to 15,750km (8,000nmi to 8,500nmi), stands third "

The 380 is in fourth place, followed by the 787-8. The 747-8 is in 6th place, followed by the 350-1000, the 340-600, 777-300ER, and the 350-900.

http://www.aerospace-technology.com/features/feature-the-longest-range-airliners-in-the-world/

[djf]

I know.

I’m under the southern approach for SeaTac and the northern approach for McChord!

Sometimes about 4 in the morning I’ll hear a screech and a roar and will look up...

About three months ago I saw two planes, both commercial, one headed south, one headed northwest, only about two hundred feet clearance from each other, (one was higher the other was beneath it) I almost called the tower to see if they even knew about it.

[TalonDJ]

They are definitely not stopping 747s entirely. Other aircraft like the 787 don’t fit in the same market niche. The niches are determined by the ratio of range to capacity. Boeing needs to have an offering across the range of markets or they will lose out to Airbus.

The confusions here probably comes from the composite version not being built on the same manufacturing line. It needs different tooling.

[PAR35]

Qantas told me the 380 is used on L.A. - Sydney runs but it does not have the capacity to go Sydney - Dallas. The 747 is required for that, and I have taken it many times.

"From 28 April 2016, Qantas will be operating daily round trip non-stop A380 services between Dallas/Fort Worth and Sydney, Australia, offering customers convenient connections on our codeshare partner American Airlines from over 50 cities in North America into DFW. +http://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/dfw-texas-australia-deals/us/en

Maybe they forgot to tell the crew. My recollection is that it does have to stop in Brisbane on the way back because of fuel issues westbound.

[TalonDJ]

“They are, but they are a huge financial mistake for Boeing. If they remain popular for 20 years Boeing may break even on them.”

True, But the technology they developed for the 787 is paying off in the new 737. That way the 737 (their big money maker) does not have the same teething problems. So in the end the 787 will probably be a big win even if it does not look like that on paper.

[AFreeBird]

Only if the new tech, and processes they spent money on, are only used for the 787, then I’d agree with you.

They made an investment in future manufacturing for new airframes.

[TalonDJ]

There is a whole row of the double size 380 gates at LAX. That most A380s I have ever seen in one place.

[steve86]

I took the tour in 2003 (after 9/11) and there was little apparent security other than the fencing and security cameras). But lots in the background, I’m sure.

[SW6906]

Go to Frankfurt where you see Lufthansas A380s as well as A380s from Middle East airlines....surreal to see so many huge airplanes together.