747 goooooooonnnnnnnnnnneeeeeee

[Saint]

To no real surprise, BA have announced the retirement of their 747 fleet. As the largest remaining passenger operator of one of the most iconic passenger jets ever, bit of a sad day. So glad I managed to get myself and the missus into seats 1A & K a few years back

[tc27]

Really enjoyed all my 747 flights - a real classic particularity with the 400 extended upper deck which gave it just the right proportions. Also thought it was a real looker in the older BA livery.

My last flight was in 2014 when we went to Cuba in a VA 747.

Also lucky enough to visit the Boeing factory and to see them being built back in the day.

Lufthansa still operating their 747-8s for a while longer I suspect.

[Sandstorm]

BA flew a couple of 747s on the London to Cape Town (Direct) route every evening. The planes were getting old and shabby, but the seats were still comfortable and they were always reliable/bang on time.

[Sandstorm]

Lufthansa still operating their 747-8s for a while longer I suspect.

Ditto Virgin on their London to Vegas and San Fran routes.

[Yeeb]

BA flew a couple of 747s on the London to Cape Town (Direct) route every evening. The planes were getting old and shabby, but the seats were still comfortable and they were always reliable/bang on time.

Those seats must have taken a hammering , flying all those fat jean pant wearing beardy boer types and their husbands

[Saint]

Lufthansa still operating their 747-8s for a while longer I suspect.

Ditto Virgin on their London to Vegas and San Fran routes.

Virgin permanently retired their entire 747 fleet a month or two ago

[Sandstorm]

Lufthansa still operating their 747-8s for a while longer I suspect.

Ditto Virgin on their London to Vegas and San Fran routes.

Virgin permanently retired their entire 747 fleet a month or two ago

Bummer, didn't know that. Don't fancy Branson any more, so will likely swerve all their flights from now on.

[Saint]

Yep - looks like Lfthansa are the largest passenger operator left, and they'll probably keep the -8s running for some time as they're so new - provided they can keep PAX numbers up

[mat the expat]

Yep - looks like Lfthansa are the largest passenger operator left, and they'll probably keep the -8s running for some time as they're so new - provided they can keep PAX numbers up

I thought they were only freighters now

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

Thinly veiled

So glad I managed to get myself and the missus into seats 1A & K a few years back

post.

[Saint]

Yep - looks like Lfthansa are the largest passenger operator left, and they'll probably keep the -8s running for some time as they're so new - provided they can keep PAX numbers up

I thought they were only freighters now

They're temporary conversions. They're miles off being full blown freighters at the moment, and would need serious engineering to get there. All of LHs -8s were ordered as I rather than F, and I don't think they've actually even taken the seats out to run cargo flights - they're just loading boxes into seats and strapping netting over the top.

By contrast Air Canada stripped out all of the Economy and Premium Economy in their 77Ws and have been running serious cargo over some very long distances

[Saint]

Thinly veiled

So glad I managed to get myself and the missus into seats 1A & K a few years back

post.

I was wondering when someone would take the dig

[bogbunny]

As an aside I was in a factory that builds the business class seats for Boeing and Airbus £75k plus fitting each.

[Saint]

As an aside I was in a factory that builds the business class seats for Boeing and Airbus £75k plus fitting each.

Rockwell Collins? Or another?

[bogbunny]

As an aside I was in a factory that builds the business class seats for Boeing and Airbus £75k plus fitting each.

Rockwell Collins? Or another?

Thompson Aero Seating ... sneakily bought out by Chinese aero company in 2016 but still keeping the euro frontman...... all the easyjet type seat manufacturing has gone to the land of the rising din sum

[Saint]

As an aside I was in a factory that builds the business class seats for Boeing and Airbus £75k plus fitting each.

Rockwell Collins? Or another?

Thompson Aero Seating ... sneakily bought out by Chinese aero company in 2016 but still keeping the euro frontman...... all the easyjet type seat manufacturing has gone to the land of the rising din sum

I've only had the misfortune of sitting in one of their "Business Class" seats twice. Like going back in time 20 years. I'm amazed they're still in business tbh

[bogbunny]

Rockwell Collins? Or another?

Thompson Aero Seating ... sneakily bought out by Chinese aero company in 2016 but still keeping the euro frontman...... all the easyjet type seat manufacturing has gone to the land of the rising din sum

I've only had the misfortune of sitting in one of their "Business Class" seats twice. Like going back in time 20 years. I'm amazed they're still in business tbh

Apparently huge profit margins on that end of the market. Being bankrolled at the moment to keep the foot in the world airline market for their overlords.

Just to clarify , are business and first class seats more or less the same thing these days? I'm an economy dude myself.

[Saint]

Thompson Aero Seating ... sneakily bought out by Chinese aero company in 2016 but still keeping the euro frontman...... all the easyjet type seat manufacturing has gone to the land of the rising din sum

I've only had the misfortune of sitting in one of their "Business Class" seats twice. Like going back in time 20 years. I'm amazed they're still in business tbh

Apparently huge profit margins on that end of the market. Being bankrolled at the moment to keep the foot in the world airline market for their overlords.

Just to clarify , are business and first class seats more or less the same thing these days? I'm an economy dude myself.

It depends really, very much on the market being served. If you look at the Middle East market there's enormous differences between business class and first. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar etc are offering a high end Business close to Trans Atlantic (TATL) or Trans Pacific (TPAC) First. You then have concepts like Suites, effectively providing a seat, 32" screen, and a separate bed for First, and sometime even multiroom setups above that

For TATL and TPAC it's a bit more variable. If you look at the new BA offering, the Business class seat is a variation of the Collins Super Diamond (which is becoming ubiquitous in these markets). Arguably it's actually a better seat than BA offer in First or at minimum very close (BA First was scheduled for an overhaul in the near future). But there's more to the difference in classes than just the seat (hard product). There's also the service (soft product) including the airport lounges, quality of booze etc.

As an example, on the ground a BA first class lounge offers table service dining. The Business lounge is (was) a buffet. The champagne in gifts is 2-3 to es the cost of the Business lounge. And those differences follow into the air.

It's certainly close enough that even BA on some routes have discontinued First altogether - and some American airlines es have discontinued it altogether.

What is fair to say is that modern Business is a league ahead of First from 20 years ago

[Koalabyte]

Iconic aircraft. I do prefer the A380 or 787 but the 747 was ahead of it's time. BA is gash, the seating in business class, was piss poor and I could never lie flat as there was never enough room. Best yogurt I ever had was in a BA flight London to LA if I am not mistaken. I flew many BA flights hoping to try that yogurt again, but it never happened... so I unleashed coronavirus version 19 to teach them a lesson.