Huh, sounds unpleasant to be a passenger in, at least in the classes I’m likely to fly. But this sounds good
Boeing says the 777-9 will boast the most advanced air filtration systems to keep the air cleaner and less dry than on rival jets.
And i guess if it’s efficient and flies long distances we’ll probably see a lot of them.
Not quite “in production.” The 777-9 has been in development for about fifty years (okay, I exaggerate – fifteen years, okay?), longer than it took to go from the Wright Brothers to the 747 (I exaggerated again – but come on!).
If I recall correctly, the soonest the -9 will actually carry passengers is 2026.
That may have been the last domestic 747 flight, but having vaguely followed this thread, i was surprised to book a Lufthansa flight that’s an A380 going to Germany, and a 747 coming back home. I hope it’s not full. I really feel claustrophobic in a full 747.
Yes, there are still a few airlines outside the US which fly the 747. As you see, Lufthansa is one of the more notable ones. It flies a daily 747 from SFO. Another is Korean Air.
Lufthansa and Korean Airlines were some of the very few airlines to order the passenger version of the 747-8. Most of the 747s being retired are the older 747-400. Being fairly new planes, those 747-8s will likely still be be flying for a while (Although without looking it up, I’m pretty sure Lufthansa is still flying their -400s as well).
Note that both the A380 and the 747 have been discontinued, though the A380 had a much shorter production run (254 versus 1,574).
I believe it’s a 747-400
Nice article on a 747 SP variant at Oshkosh.
Shame they could not have managed to take a side view picture from any distance. What’s unique about SPs in general is only visible from the side. And for the engine testbeds, what’s extra unique about them is normally bolted into the number 1 or 2 engine position.
Still a good article though.
Lufthansa has announced the impending grounding of all their (few) remaining passenger 747s and A340s. Leaving the A380 as the only passenger 4-engine jet in their fleet.
Huh, assuming it actually happens, my flight to Germany this summer is scheduled to be on a 747. When will this happen?
I wonder if the grounding of the A340 and 747 airliners owned by Lufthansa is because of the spike in energy prices. Supposedly there is less than two months of jet fuel in Europe right now.
There are several issues right now:
High fuel prices hit the older less efficient airplanes harder.
Demand for travel is off, and the biggest airplanes are now too big for the number of tickets that can be profitably sold.
There is a war going on between Lufthansa management and the crew unions, both pilot and FA. Grounding the biggest airplanes, and shifting some others to lower-paid subsidaries is standard management hostage taking: either accept our ultimatum about your job’s pay & work rules or we’ll simply eliminate your job completely.
My own take is this is mostly about Door #3, but in supposedly consensual labor-friendly Germany they like to have some political cover from external events seemingly forcing their hand. So now’s a great time to pull that trigger.
The (paywalled) article I read was a bit sketchy on which dates applied to what, but more or less immediately; within a month at most. It’s a virtual certainty you won’t be riding on a 747.
May 12th, so less than a month away. The airline hasn’t informed me that my flight is cancelled, yet. They do have a notice about strikes affecting this week’s flights.
I hope i don’t get stranded in Germany.
I hate the 747, so if they move me to another aircraft I’ll probably be happy. But i suspect it might be worse than that.
If you visit Lufthansa’s website right now they have a banner saying all schedules are unreliable due to ongoing labor unrest.
Then again, Lufthansa and angry fussy labor are pretty much synonymous at the best of times.
Good luck. Seriously, not snarkily.
I just looked at what the app is saying. I think the answer right now is, “risk of something bad, actual outcome unpredictable”.
'Zactly.
The Lufthansa press release says:
To this end, the last four remaining Airbus A340-600s will leave the fleet in October, thus bringing the era of this aircraft type at Lufthansa to a definitive end. Additionally, two Boeing 747-400s will be grounded from October onwards for the coming winter. The final farewell to this aircraft type is planned for next year.
So I don’t think a May flight would be affected by this issue. And it doesn’t mention the 747-8 at all.
The app still says I’ll be flying on a 747-400. We’ll see. 