Originally Posted by
georgetg
^^^This^^^
Why buy something else when you can keep flying what you have, ready to go, now...
Who knows, maybe the next bid will have awards instead of displacements on the whale...
Cheers
George
I too would like that surprise.
The economics of the 747-400 have been pretty well covered. What oil prices don't resolve is the operational difficulties imposed by an anachronistic type. The 747 seems to have fallen from grace following a couple of high profile diversions and unscheduled maintenance events (apparently handled very well by the crews BTW). There is also the issue of thin margins on routes the 747 was flying.
The 747 is a beautiful jet and it's easy to be nostalgic.