That surprises me, too. I knew COVID had sped up their retirement, but I didn’t think they were all gone yet. In fact I recall that Lufthansa had grounded their A380s due to the COVID downturn, but was actually still flying their 747s.
Which isn’t surprising, since they are among the very few airlines that bought the passenger version of the 747-8, so they have some of the newest 747s in existence.
That’s another statement that surprises me a bit, because some of my best flights were on Lufthansa, and I’d consider them one of the best airlines I’ve flown. Granted, I’ve never flown on any of the Asian of Middle Eastern carriers, which I’ve heard positive things about, so I don’t know how they compare to them.
Yeah I probably sound a bit like traveling prima Donna, but I am one of the most relaxed travelers there is, delays, cancellations, rebooked, sat next to the baby , flight attendant drops the person next to me beverage over me, move to accommodate what ever, try and be invisible for the flight attendants as they are busy, I am just happy smiling helpful me.
I just find it’s really easy to swap routes to a plane I like better , not that my reasons for liking a plane are particularly logical, so I do.
Lufthansa , well that was a flight with a really aggressive, unpleasant flight attendants , I know two side to any story etc, but I have traveled enough and it was definitely a crew issue. Anyway that’s my choice and problem and I am happy with it.
Everyone is looking for different things, I suspect - for me, Lufthansa’s business class for me is a solid B, I didn’t seek it out, but I didn’t avoid it. Same for the overnight Boston-Frankfurt economy or premium economy…both are okay.
I think the same person you were responding to mentioned Asian airlines? For me, All Nippon & Singapore are both great business class flights, I would go out of my way for either of those.
ETA: what am I looking for, particularly in business class? Privacy pods, good wifi, and sensible, sensitive service - if I’m thinking of sleeping for a chunk of a flight, I like it if they ask what my plan is and adapt to it. Nippon is probably the best I’ve had from that perspective.*
except for the one time I’ve ever flown first, which was on Emirates. now that was different.
Yes, apparently Korean and Lufthansa are the remaining 747 pax operators among the major carriers. Though the career of the -8 may be shortened if the economics are unfavortable after CoVid.
Mental image…
“You VILL remain seated in ze Uprightpositionen!!”
Malaysian , ANA , Singapore business was great, as you say sensitive service. The other great thing when I was based in Asia was the business class flights when booked over there were very reasonable prices. Emirates and Qatar also very good, EVA air seems very utilitarian in business.
I would struggle to justify the business class transatlantic flight price to myself let alone the boss, so I do have hopes for the new united Premium class when we get back to traveling, it’s kind of like what business was before they combined business and first on the US carries.
Oh right. I had people reporting to me in Thailand, Hong Kong & Malaysia who showed me how reasonable the business class was out there & made the argument…and given how much they traveled, I was fine with it.
During my oilfield days I did a lot of flying in the US, Europe, South America and Africa, and made a point of knowing what aircraft or helicopter types I was riding in.
I now work for a small aviation museum that faces onto an active taxiway, and with a volunteer staff mostly made up of plane spotters, so I feel somewhat obligated to know what’s going by outside.
If you follow the updates on that thread, most of the major foreign airlines that used the 747 have accelerated their retirement plans. Not too many are still in operation.
They’re expensive to operate, and 2nd and 3rd tier airlines don’t fly routes that can fill a 747,
Lufthansa have retired the A380 & 747 now, plus the A340-600 (4-engined, not very economical so they were probably looking for an excuse).
Air France have actually started scrapping A380s (depending on ownership - maybe they’re returns to the leasing company) - the aircraft were coming up to a 10 year major overhaul and economics played the trump (had to get that in with a lower case ‘t’) card.
Then I stand chastened, humbled and corrected but delighted - the 747 is by far my favourite (after the L-1011 which seems to have fallen out of favour somewhat - undeserved IMHO )
The L1011 was a magnificent machine. I never flew it myself, but spent a lot of hours riding in their cockpits. And more hours snoozing in the back.
It was not a good money maker for the manufacturer or the operators. The last of them in real world passenger service was about 20 years ago, with only oddball 3rd rate operators of just one or two lasting much after that.
Geez, what’s all this “semi-retired” stuff in your bio? Sounds like you’re still very active and, more to the point, having lots of fun!
My answer to the OP question is that yes, to this very day, I care about the plane I’m on because I’m an aviation nut. But when I was a kid, I was a fanatic. I remember one time I was scheduled to fly halfway across the country to visit my older brother, and I was excited because it was on a DC-8, not one of those boring turboprops. I was so excited that I was up all night. And what did I do while up all night? I put the finishing touches on my lovingly built model of an Air Canada DC-8, to go along with my other models. And then I got a ride to the airport to get on the real thing. It was wonderful, and almost surreal, particularly since I was bit dazed from lack of sleep!
I may have to update that bio as the industry recovers. But in fact I’d had a very easy last 5-ish years in a quiet backwater of my employer from 2014 to 2018. Things were just heating up for me in spring 2019 when the MAXes all went down and my new position became another backwater. Then COVID hit and the whole airline became a stagnant pool.
I’ve been flying almost as far back as I can remember, and in the Before Times, my wife and son and I would typically travel by air 2-3 times a year. We fly Southwest mostly since it has direct flights from BWI to Tampa, and I’m aware through massive repetition that it has 737s. But that’s what it takes for me to notice or care about what kind of plane I’m on.
Well, I did notice the change from prop planes flying at 10,000 feet to jets flying at 30,000 feet when I was a kid. But I couldn’t have told you what kind of jet or prop plane.
I usually notice a jet model indication at some point during the trip but the only distinction I really care about is “safe” vs. “unsafe”. I’m also very airline brand indifferent and nearly always take the low budget flights - I never understand why some people insist they will never fly on Spirit again(?)
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