On Friday, British Airways management signaled the early retirement of the airline’s 31 747-400. Until now, BA was the world’s largest remaining operator of flights from 747 to 400 passengers. Lufthansa also owns 13 of the ships, along with 19 of the new 747-8, while Air China and Air India also operate a handful of 747-400s. American airlines like Delta and United withdrew theirs a few years ago.
Soon enough, the only 747s actively in service will be cargo planes; a few hundred are still used for this purpose.
Generally speaking, the big reason for recalls is fuel efficiency; The two-story, four-engine 747, whose 64-foot-tall tail is as tall as a six-story building, is of little use to airlines desperate to cut emissions.
The A340 that once competed with Airbus is in a similar situation, as is its much newer A380. Contrary to expectations, it turned out that very few routes require a giant plane.
But the pre-existing trend has been accelerated by this year’s coronavirus pandemic, which abruptly killed most international travel and forced airlines, many of which were already contemplating losing weight, to fight for survival. BA itself is preparing for up to 12,000 layoffs.
The industry expects it will take at least a few years for passenger numbers to recover. Meanwhile, there is little point in continuing to maintain giant planes that would soon be retired anyway; The smartest option is to use smaller ships that allow carriers to retain their valuable slots in major hubs without spending as much on operating costs.
BA has been operating 747s of one variety or another since 1971, a year after Pan Am became the world’s first airline to bring them into service. It took deliveries of the 747-400 model in the decade between 1989 and 1999, at one time operating 57 of them. (Only Japan Air Lines had more, with a fleet of 100, the last of which was retired in 2011.)
