How long left for the 747's?

I don’t think QANTAS is necessarily after fleet commonality, as they have a very diverse fleet as it is. They might just be looking for the best aircraft suited for thier needs.

I know Qantas already has the A330, but do you think that signifies they will opt for the A340NG rather than the 777? (if they go for either).

As for the cargo, depends on whether or not they have long term cargo contracts and what the penalties are for breaking the contracts. I would otherwise agree that a fare paying passenger would take priority over ad-hoc cargo.

Thats true, the range will definitly be its selling point

Why would it be “too small?” If it has the capable range, with no restrictions, size doesn’t matter.

This is where the 345 would come in handy, but perhaps its to small…

Steve, from what I was told, there were no problems flying Eastbound, it was Westbound where the restrictions came in. 40 seats seems like a bit much. You’re talking about $80,000 Australian (@ $2,000 a piece, roundtrip) lost for those empty economy class seats. I would think you’d sacrifice cargo before you’d sacrifice a live paying cutsomer. Unless of course, a load of cargo is generating an equal or greater amount of revenue. SYD-DFW seems like a bit of a reach, even for the -400ER. They might have some restrictions on that aircraft, even, to pull of that distance.

I believe they had to have 40 empty seats to fly nonstop MEL-LAX
The ER can fly MEL-LAX with a full payload
Also iv’e heard a rumor that they are looking at SYD-DALLAS non stop.

I know SAA had been struggling with the 744 on US routes from JNB (New York or Atlanta, not sure to which they mainly operate)

The problem was that for anti-sparking reasons they had to keep a pump covered by fuel, so they couldn’t burn all the fuel they usually would. That meant payload restrictions. Maybe Qantas had the same issue?

QF’s 744’s were doing just fine on the routes they already had, with slight payload restrictions only on the westbound (which I was unaware of until the tarmac tour guide informed us). The 744ER sacrifices hold space for an extra fuel tank. So theoretically, that space that now holds fuel, wasn’t usuable for cargo with the restrictions to begin with. NZ and UA fly the same routes and they still use the regular 744’s. I fly them all the time. This is all speculation on my part, perhaps Skycruiser can shed some light on the situation. The LAX-MEL flight is a little more than 7,900 statute miles. The LAX-SYD flight is 7,487 miles. With headwinds, what are the restrictions with a typical pax load of around 380 on those routes with a regular 744? Also, how much more effective is the 744ER on those 2 routes without restrictions?

agreed……..in the nex 12-15 years the legend will be out.

Mongu, I think that Qantas only purchased the 744ER because it was available before their A388s that they have on order, (correct me if i am wrong)
But yes, their routes demand a type of aircraft like the 744ER.

Cheers,

ACA345

Its probably one of the greatest planes of all time, sad to think it might disapear. However i think for pax service 15 years may be right for the 744 at least, but if airlines are trying to get rid of their huge planes why would they bye even bigger ones, the trend seems to be smaller wide bodies right now. Who knows perhaps Boeing will eventually make a 745 which might be two full length decks, to compete with the A380 if the 380 is the direction the world goes than certainly Boeing would have to make something to carry those numbers of pax. As for cargo it will be around for a long long time, i mean the 707 & dc8 arestill used for cargo.

A type cannot keep going for ever, even with upgraded designs. The 747 will cease to fly eventually and be replaced by a more advanced design. It will be a sad day in aviation history when the 747 stops flying.

They will disappear from passenger service within 15 years.

Most airlines are already trying to get rid of their 747s with newer widebodies (US airlines for one) so when the A380 comes along that might be the nail in the coffin.

I would say that explains why nobody has bought the passenger version of the -400ER (apart from Qantas, and that’s because of their particular routes)