![]() ![]() The 747-400 has a range of 7,200nm – making it the longest-range commercial airliner when it was introduced – and a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 875,000lb. Northwest would ultimately take delivery of 16 747-400s from Boeing, and United 44, the airframer's orders and deliveries database shows. Northwest was the launch customer for the 747-400, placing an order for 10 in October 1985, and United followed suit with an order for four that November, the Flight International archive shows. "That aircraft will set the economic pace till the end of the century," he said, a prescient view of the type that did set the standard for widebody travel into the 2000s. "Today, there are more fuel-efficient, cost-effective and reliable widebody aircraft."Īfter Northwest introduced the 747-400 in early 1989, its then-chief executive Steven Rothmeier touted operating costs 17% lower than the 747-200's and improved capabilities that would allow it to fly in strong headwinds from New York to Tokyo with a full load of passengers and freight, in an interview with Flight International in June that year. "It's a bittersweet milestone – with its unmistakable silhouette once represented the state of the art in air travel," wrote United president Scott Kirby in a January letter to employees announcing the retirement plans. To date, neither have used these newer models to open routes, though both tout significant cost savings and benefits to their bottom lines. That number had dwindled to just 27 last year, as Delta and United – the last two US passenger operators of the jumbo – gradually retired their 747 fleets.Īs with any aircraft type, the gains from the 747-400 when it was introduced in 1989 have been superseded by newer widebodies that boast many of the same efficiency and range gains that the -400 did on its debut.ĭelta is replacing its 747-400s with Airbus A350-900s and United, which retires its last 747 after a recreation of its first Jumbo Jet flight from San Francisco to Honolulu in November, with Boeing 777-300ERs. American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Northwest, Pan Am, TWA and United Airlines all operated the type, including the then-new 747-400, at the time. The in-service fleet of commercial passenger 747s in the USA peaked at 130 in 1990, Flight Fleet Analyzer shows. Long-departed names, from Northwest Airlines to Pan Am and TWA, used the 747 to open markets and extend their networks further around the world. The aircraft, launched by Boeing and Pan Am in 1966, flew for just about every major US carrier since its introduction in 1970. Airline Business special: CEOs to watch in 2021Īn era in commercial aviation will end in December when the last Delta Air Lines Boeing 747 flies into the sunset, ending a near-half-century run for the iconic Jumbo Jet in US fleets.FlightGlobal Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2021. ![]() ![]() EDGE: A new global force in aerospace and defence.Shell Aviation: What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?.What does the future of aviation look like in 2022?.Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2022.What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation?.Airline Business Covid-19 recovery tracker. ![]()
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