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.

777F is the king.
777f max payload 230,000/5300 Miles.
747-400erf max payload 248,000/5700 Miles.

74 wins in bulk and oversized cargo.

The -8 never met the boeing performance figures. Im sure somehow it will resurface because its too big of a write off to walk away from. While the article/rumors are for 400’s Im personally curious as to what will actually end up on the ramp.

I've only seen the nose loader used once , and opened a total of three times. They say there's no replacement for the 747, but that nose loader doesn't get used often enough I think... The military K loaders can't work with the -8, and customers don't like the BCF'S as much because of reduced tall loads. 777's will become the dominant cargo carrier, but it will suck big time to lose that upper deck. Also the future of cargo conversions is questionable because of the difficulties of composite construction handling such modifications.
Fuel is on an uptick, some carriers will park 74's, and I think Connie will keep using them.