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[Olympia5776]

I'm surprised you aircraft wallahs didn't post this up .
The last Boeing 747 leaves the production line .
https://twitter.com/BoeingAirplanes/status/1600371756627554319

[Sir Tigger KC]

Wow they've been building them for 52 years! 

Presumedly with the odd facelift and upgrade here and there. 

[Olympia5776]

For some reason this left a tinge of sadness when I stumbled over it years ago . Number one .
All gone now .
https://luxurylaunches.com/travel/boeing_747_jumbo_converted_to_a_restaurant_in_korea.php

[Doctor Gollum]

All my bag tags are made from one of ours...

Seemed fitting.

[TheBoy]

They stopped taking orders 2 or 3 years back.  Surprised it lasted this long TBH, and highlights the stupidity of Airbus and their ridiculous (from a business perspective, not from a passenger perspective) A380.

Boeing also announced that they would bring out a new aircraft for over a decade, probably 2035. leaving them with effectively only the 737 MAX and the 787 Dreamliner as the competition to Airbus' range.  Rumour is, Boeing have something already designed, but waiting on the radical new RISE engines, which are over a decade away, in order to create a significant efficiency improvement over the MAX.

[TheBoy]

And, probably almost uniquely for someone who does get about a bit, I have never even stepped on a 747, let alone flown in one.

[LC0112G]

They stopped taking orders 2 or 3 years back.  Surprised it lasted this long TBH, and highlights the stupidity of Airbus and their ridiculous (from a business perspective, not from a passenger perspective) A380.

Boeing also announced that they would bring out a new aircraft for over a decade, probably 2035. leaving them with effectively only the 737 MAX and the 787 Dreamliner as the competition to Airbus' range.  Rumour is, Boeing have something already designed, but waiting on the radical new RISE engines, which are over a decade away, in order to create a significant efficiency improvement over the MAX.

Boeing are working on B777X, which is an updated and longer version of the current B777. Supposedly up to 426 seats, which is similar to the B747, although it depends a lot on the number of seats in each class. So BA/QF will probably try and cram in 400+, whereas a proper airlines like SQ/EK will give Economy pax more space than a veal calf in a crate.

B777X is running at least 5 years behind schedule though, with first deliveries not expected till 2025 at the earliest. The FAA have woken up after the B737-MAX 'issues' and apparently reviews of B777X have shown similar 'problems' with the new wide body, and Boeing have been told to re-engineer some things before they even think about going for certification.

[Doctor Gollum]

Airbus only produce two aircraft... A320 family and A350. The 330 is an old design with new engines.

The 737Max is basically a 60's design with new engines, Incidentally the same engine as the 320Neo, but is less efficient because the 737 is heavier.

There is a suggestion that the 757 will be reengined as the next narrow body Boeing aircraft.

As for the 747, flown on four. Most memorable was flying over NYC in 1989 on the way to Miami and sitting on the door bustle of Door 5 looking down over a spectacular view of Manhattan, all lit up a week before Christmas. If that's the only memory I take to my grave, I will be happy.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Flown on loads of 747s, upstairs also (premium economy on Air Chance is upstairs)

Best aircraft I have been on is the A380 from a passenger perspective, worst is still the 777 for me

[LC0112G]

Flown on loads of 747s, upstairs also (premium economy on Air Chance is upstairs)

Best aircraft I have been on is the A380 from a passenger perspective, worst is still the 777 for me

I would agree that best is A380 - although I've only flown that with SQ. My personal worst was a B744 Air New Zealand, closely followed by a Qantas A330.

I've flown on lots of B747's from many airlines. The quality is more determined by the airline though. I would rather fly an old SQ B744 than on a new BA A380/350. Infact on my last trip back from Phoenix I had the choice of an AA B772, or a codeshare BA A350. Same price and similar times. The B772 every time for me, not because of the plane, but because of the operator. 

[Doctor Gollum]

The Triple is a very dry aircraft, the Dreamliner and A350 are pressurised at about half the altitude and are humidity controlled, which makes them much more comfortable.

The only way an A380 makes financial sense is to fill it with premium passengers and freight, or about 800 economy passengers.

We only have 13 of them (with no intention of purchasing any more) and are currently the second largest operator. Which gives you an idea of how cost effective they are.

[Andy B]

For some reason this left a tinge of sadness when I stumbled over it years ago . Number one .
All gone now .
https://luxurylaunches.com/travel/boeing_747_jumbo_converted_to_a_restaurant_in_korea.php

All that way to Korea when we have this on our door step .... 

https://goo.gl/maps/saxd2mYKpwohGJQYA

[ronnyd]

For some reason this left a tinge of sadness when I stumbled over it years ago . Number one .
All gone now .
https://luxurylaunches.com/travel/boeing_747_jumbo_converted_to_a_restaurant_in_korea.php

All that way to Korea when we have this on our door step .... 

https://goo.gl/maps/saxd2mYKpwohGJQYA

Bolton, says it all.  Looks awful, how the hell did they get planning for that monstrosity.

[LC0112G]

We only have 13 of them (with no intention of purchasing any more) and are currently the second largest operator. Which gives you an idea of how cost effective they are.

12 :-) You can't purchase any more (new) because production ended in Dec 2021.

However, airlines are bringing them back into service much more quickly than anticipated post pandemic. More than half those ever built are back in service already, and that will probably be up past 75% by next summer. The problem being that airlines don't really know how long it'll take for B777X to be ready, so they've either got to re-commission stored A380's, join the queue for A350 or add used B777/A330 to their fleets. B787 isn't really and option because it's not large enough, and not popular with PAX either.

https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/the-status-of-the-airbus-a380-fleet-worldwide/

[Doctor Gollum]

Oops. I could have sworn it was 13. Just checked the CCOM and we do indeed only have 12

Obviously we can't buy new, but airlines are retiring them, even before TCV.

Not trained on it, got lumped with the A350, and don't much care for the 380. It's a fat lump of pig iron compared to the 747 of any derivative