And here i am, back on a 747, preparing to return to the US. This is also a 747-400. Who knows, maybe it’s the same jet, and it just shuttles back and forth.
(pretty sure it was the same jet.)
The Washington Post just had an article about ashtrays on airplanes. Yes, they’re still there, and they’re still required.
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Then why only on one of the four bathrooms? (I was curious and checked.) Do they expect scofflaws to scope out the right bathroom?
(And i guess it’s asking too much of passengers to think they might extinguish a cigarette in the sink or toilet, rather than in the trash can? That’s somewhat astonishing.)
Maybe European regulations are different? On US based airlines I’m sure I’ve seen them in every lavatory.
IIRC, back in the era when smoking was allowed on planes there were a few fires started by passengers disposing of cigarette butts in the trash can.
Looking at the 747 Minimum Equipment List (MEL). Lav door ashtrays are considered Non-essential Furnishings (NEF). A minimum of 1 is required by the FAA, but it is not required for dispatch provided the missing or damaged one is replaced within 10 days. if there are multiple onboard, up to 50% of them can be missing or inop for 10 days.
I heard a roar tonight and looked up to see this:
You took that photo? Gorgeous.
A door ashtray? None of the lavs had ashtrays in the door. The one that existed was in an exterior (to the lav) wall. The wall between the lav and the C-D corridor.
Yup, this was in the next town over but our house is on one of the flight paths for Logan Airport so depending on the winds we have planes low overhead quite often. I see A380s often, but it’s a bit more rare to see the 747.
They made 4-5 flights with passengers, and now the plane is in long term storage. I think they’re done.
Yesterday evening, I was driving past Chicago O’Hare, and I saw the unmistakeable shape of a 747. Sure enough, it was a Lufthansa plane, taking off.
They’re still planning on flying their 747-8s into the 2030s. They’ve got 18 of those, so there’s a good shot at seeing them for years to come.
Lufthansa also still has 8 747-400s and will retire all of them by next year.