ANALYSIS
game-changing impact, with its huge ca- pacity and extended range, yet somehow it never quite seemed to match up to the high expectations for it. But in one respect at least, the advent
of the jumbo was key to the emergence of the modern airport strategy adopted in most major cities around the world – the hub-and-spoke model favoured especially by US airports, but increasingly adopted globally. This was based on the premise that travellers should be transported in giant aircraft to a central hub and would then travel onwards to their final airport destination in smaller aircraft. This hub-and-spoke template succeeded
A Pan Am Boeing 747 at JFK Airport in 1973
flown to an Arizona ‘boneyard’ early this month (January) for its final resting place. Although Boeing is no longer producing
new 747-400 series passenger aircraft, it still makes the 747-8 cargo version, which is supported for the next couple of years at least by a 14-strong order from delivery company UPS, with a further 14 on option.
But while Boeing is counting on newer versions of its 737 Max, 777 and 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft helping to fill the gap left by the phasing out of the 747, Airbus is keeping up the pressure, especially with new variants of its successful A350 XWB programme. These ‘extra widebody’ airliners are built with lighter composite
“The jumbo jet with its unmistakable silhouette represented the state-of-the-art in air travel”
The US Air Force is acquiring two 747-8s as the basis for the new Presidential aircraft Air Force One, due to come into service in 2024. But the writing is clearly on the wall for
the jumbo, especially as Boeing has stopped making replacement parts for the earlier variants. British Airways, which at present is the world’s largest operator of the 747- 400, has already reduced its 747 fleet from 57 to 36 and is planning further cuts. British Airways’ chief financial officer
Steve Gunning revealed at an investor event last November (held by parent company IAG), that half the 747-400 fleet will be withdrawn by 2021 with the final exit in 2024. He said that new-generation twinjets from Boeing and Airbus were 30 per cent more fuel-efficient than the 747s, offering potential savings of £156 million a year.
GOING OUT OF FASHION Although BA also operates a dozen A380s there seems little likelihood that United or Delta – or any other US carrier – will now embrace the superjumbo. Out of the 13 airlines that fly the A380, only three – Air France, BA and Lufthansa – are not located in the Middle East or the Asia-Pacific region.
42 BBT January/February 2018
materials for wings and fuselage, able to fly for up to 19 hours with greater fuel efficiency than conventional aircraft. Aviation has been a dynamic, changing business almost from the day the Wright Brothers made their historic first flight. When Boeing introduced the 747 in the 1970s it revolutionised long-haul travel, opening up the world to a new genera- tion of travellers, both for business and leisure. The A380 could have had the same
the traditional model of flying point-to- point which many travellers – especially those on business – prefer given the extra hassle and potential for delays and lost luggage that changing planes entails. Studies in the US and EU suggest the point- to-point model is more efficient for both passengers and airlines, although govern- ments and regulatory bodies are not so sure. Yet Airbus remains largely committed
to hub-and-spoke, unsurprisingly given that the A380 was developed for it. Heath- row’s hoped-for expansion is based on this concept, although it is already the world’s ‘most connected’ international airport, according to the latest rankings of global megahubs collated by aviation data agency OAG. Europe dominates the rankings, with Frankfurt and Amsterdam airports in second and third places. Chicago O’Hare International Airport is ranked fourth. Fears that the era of extra-large, long-
haul aircraft has peaked may be wide of the mark. Both Boeing and Airbus insist their massive ‘pachyderms’ have a viable future – but that was said, too, about Concorde.
The ‘boneyard’: Retired B747s at the Mojave Air and Space Port
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ALAMY
ALAMY
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