Another chapter nears an end for the storied Boeing program, as British Airways prepares to retire its 747 fleet. But three words still give me hope…
British Airways Will Retire Its 28-Aircraft 747 Fleet
British Airways is the largest commercial operator of the Boeing 747 in the world. With 28 aircraft in its fleet, it operates more 747 aircraft, all of the 747-400 variant, than any other commercial airline.
AirlineGeeks notes an internal memo from British Airways states that entire 747 fleet will be retired immediately, “subject to consultation.”
“With much regret, we are proposing, subject to consultation, the immediate retirement of our Queen of the Skies, the 747-400. We know there is speculation on social media and aviation websites, so we wanted to make our position clear.”
British Airways’ 747 fleet has already been parked for months. The carrier planned to retire the fleet by 2024 so this news simply accelerates the process.
Why the 747? The memo blames tepid demand and the relative lack of fuel efficiency of a four-engine jet. 747s, some of which are now 30 years old, also require more maintenance than newer aircraft.
“Subject To Consultation”
Three words give me some hope that this fleet retirement will not be as sudden as, say, Air France’s decision to retire the A380. While British Airways called it decision to retire the 747 fleet “immediate,” it at least leaves open the door that it may stick around a bit longer with a caveat that the retirement is “subject to consultation.”
Air France offered employees a farewell ride on the A380, but I am hopeful that British Airways might offer several final passenger flights aboard its 747, which it calls the flagship of its fleet.
“The unofficial flagship of our fleet, the 747-400 has a very special place in the hearts of aviation enthusiasts and of many of us. We know how many memories of this extra-special aircraft are shared across the BA family and our proposal to retire the fleet early has only been taken in response to the crisis we find ourselves in.”
British Airways recently spent millions to update the interiors of its 747s and also painted four aircraft with retro livery to celebrate BA’s centennial.
> Read More: British Airways Honors 747 Legacy With Retro Livery
CONCLUSION
In the big picture, it is clear why British Airways has chosen to accelerate the retirement of its 747 fleet:
“The whole airline community is reconciling itself to a bleak outlook for passenger demand. Long haul travel will take years to recover, with the major industry bodies agreeing that we will not see a return to 2019 levels until 2023 at the soonest.”
But what a sad, sad day. The Queen of the Skies is a lovely aircraft and I had greatly looked forward to flying it again on British Airways.
Will you miss the British Airways 747?
> Read More: British Airways 747 First Class Review
> Read More: British Airways 747 World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) Review
image: British Airways
I have never felt any emotional affinity to the A380. But the 747? It evokes so many memories and places around the world for me. No matter the airline, when you board a 747 you are riding on decades of great memories and feeling now the excitement of flying to some place special. I always loved going to wherever a 747 took me. The pinched forward cabin in F, the upper deck in Business…any configuration or seats were fine by me.
At this point, while it would be somewhat costly, I think carriers like BA should actually consider keeping at least two around for service for another few years. The demand will be there for many who would want to assure they get one or two more farewell flights on the Queen. At the very least we should have Lufthansa and Korean flying the 800’s for a bit more…but these days, who knows.
Very soon it will be only 3rd world carriers flying 747s. It has been a great survivor: saw off the major competition in the DC-10 and Lockheed TriStar ( both very fine planes regardless of the bad publicity) and made flying affordable.
Young people might not fully appreciate just what a revolutionary change it was from the single aisle 707 ( and the relief from the wake-the-dead noise of it…)
“Very soon it will be only 3rd world carriers flying 747s“
Oh noes, not them 3rd world carriers!
Sad to consider that my joyride on VA’s 747-400 back in February might have been my last ride on the Queen ever…
I think you’ll still have the chance on LH, CA, and KE for years to come, but the 747-400s are going fast.
The BA 747-400 is my wife and my wife’s favourite plane, especially upstairs in the 60’s!
Over the years I’ve flown with BA on Britannias, Viscounts, BAC111’s, Tridents, VC10’s, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, 787, Airbus of every flavour and A380 (and I probably missed a couple).
I’ve also spent a some of my time in my early years going transatlantic on 707s, DC-10s with AA, Aer Lingus, Laker, NorthWest, PanAm and Virgin; and more recently in the Middle East on Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Qatar and occasionally Saudia and Turkish on everything from 737s to 777s, A340s and A380s.
BA has (and is) having its ups and downs. Its succession of CEOs and increasing competition from the ME and budget carriers has taken its toll on the quality of offering at times. But, with a few exceptions, we have always found the cabin crew to be more attentive, helpful and understanding compared to their US, ME and certainly budget airline competition. We have tried to stay faithful to BA where we could. But the pandemic and bad timing just dropped me from Exec Club Gold to Silver and, as I’m now retired, I’m likely to do some, but a lot less flying. So I will have a challenge to stay at Silver beyond the next renewal.
One thing on which I would like to defend BA is that we had a total of 8 sectors booked before the pandemic – 6 with BA and 2 with AA, all taking place between May 1st and Sept 30th. I have to say, we have had full credit card refunds for what must be over £6K of fares, each of which took just one quick phone call. So, despite being a pensioner, now on a fixed income, my wife and I will continue to give preference to BA on its routes – and hopefully their fares will stay competitive.
When will we have our next flight? I’m not sure. We had hoped to do The Maldives in early 2021 and Florida next summer, with maybe Venice and a few other European destinations in between. But we’ll just have to wait and see what happens over the next 3 to 4 months.
Yes, We’ll miss the “Queen of the Skies” when she does retire. None of the replacements (and I’ve been on them all except the A350) doesn’t have the same sense of space, even in Economy!
First flight on a 747 was on Pan Am – BOM-LHR-NYC. Next flew on it years later on AI BOM – LON – BOM. The last time was again AI BOM – LON – BOM. Got lucky and got upgraded to FC in the nose. Return got upgraded to J on the upper deck.
What a graceful aircraft.