Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets • Hacker News Board

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#221

Post by gsnedders » Fri, Jul 03, 2020, 5:19 PM UTC

9nGQluzmnq3M wrote: post #180

Waterluvian wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tangent: are there a ton of pilots struggling to remain qualified and well practiced given all the flights not flying?

From what I understand, most airlines are rotating the few remaining shifts. This way each pilot gets a couple of flights per month, which is enough to keep their ratings. That said, since many airlines have completely stopped flying some plane types (particulary the A380 superjumbo), those pilots are going to have a problem soon.

AFAIK, some airlines were scheduling _extremely_ few flights of larger aircraft purely to keep currency.

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#222

Post by hodgesrm » Fri, Jul 03, 2020, 6:49 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #212

hodgesrm wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, the smaller planes are quite pleasant to fly on. Better cabin pressurization and larger windows. They also allow more long-haul routes. Besides a 777 is not that much smaller than a 747.

Given the damage it causes to the environment, flying should be less comfortable, not more .

Damage compared to what alternative? If I need to go somewhere as an individual, it's quite a bit more efficient to fly vs. driving. An Airbus A319Neo gets 122 mpg per seat. That's almost 5 times the 2017 average gas mileage for American cars. [2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_economy_in_aircraft#Short...

[2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-epa-emissions-autos/u-s-a...

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#223

Post by BrandoElFollito » Sun, Jul 05, 2020, 10:41 AM UTC

smohnot wrote: post #55

Sad day for me; for a plane geek, frequent traveler, son of immigrants, and someone who has been to the factory (incredible - visit the Everett Boeing facility if you get a chance), this is super nostalgic. The "Queen of the skies" really changed air travel, and I'm a bit sad that they won't be flying much longer. The economics, size and scale of travel were drastically different before the 747. Before the 747, only…

I flew several times in the upper deck. The experience was great, a kind of cosy place in a huge plane.

I wonder why all airlines do not put their 1st class there (Lufthansa for instance is business on the upper deck, while IIRC Thai is first)