Originally Posted by
AC560
The economics don’t work until oil gets expensive and even then when it falls everyone will be bringing back 400’s or even classics from the desert. It’s a great plane but only at $100 a barrel.
They also really only can make it on the Pacific trade where volumetric capacity is king. The Atlantic with denser cargo it is so much better to use 76/77. The 74’s on the Atlantic are largely filling an oversized niche and without that niche cargo which is limited the economics don’t work.
From a cargo guys perspective nothing is better then a 74 when you take money out of the picture. It does everything and then some.
This is interesting, however not having flown a 76 or 777, I don't really know their capabilities. I know on the 74 with an empty weight of around mid 300's, can carry over 200,000 in cargo with 300,000 in fuel. Shorter distances such as the Atlantic, we can load up more in cargo, for a mgtow of 870,000 lbs. We usually bulk out first. In cruise depending on weight and altitude, I've seen FF from 4.0 to 6.0 per engine.
Some one told me a 777 can carry 90% of what a 744 can do. Don't know if they were referring to bulk or density.