Is The End Of The 747 In Sight? | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Fri, Dec 25, 2015

Is The End Of The 747 In Sight?

Boeing Having Trouble Finding Buyers For The Original Jumbo Jet

Boeing is continuing to struggle to find buyers for the 747, which has some analysts writing the obituary for the airplane.

Writing for Forbes, contributor Dan Reed points out that Boeing won only two orders for the 747-8F freighter this year, which were added to the two that were ordered last year. Both of those were "white tails" bought by the company's aircraft financing unit. They were leased to Russian cargo carrier AirBridge Cargo, which has seen its share of recent financial difficulties. Boeing reportedly has six to eight "white tail" 747s ... airplanes that are not committed to a customer and therefore have no livery ... in their inventory.

In March, Boeing cut the production rate from 18 747s per year to one per month, and still has only enough orders to keep its Everett, WA production line open for about two years, Reed reports.

Only about 30 Boeing 747s remain in service with U.S.-flagged carriers, and United and Delta are phasing them out.

The 747s only competitor in terms of size is the Airbus A380, which seats up to 550 people rather than the 400 or so normally carried by the 747. While demand for the A380 has also been slow, it has seen sales far superior to the 747.

Forbes reports that Boeing still hopes to keep the 747 production line open long enough to secure a contract to replace the aging 747-200s currently flown as Air Force One with new, highly-modified 747-8 airplanes. But beyond that, Reed writes, the airplane's days are numbered.

FMI: Full Article

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 06.30.25: US v ADS-B Misuse, Nat’l STOL Fire, Volocopter Resumes

Also: Netherlands Donates 18 F16s, 2 737s Collide On Ramp, E-7 Wedgetail Cut, AgEagle's 100th In S Korea The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act was introduced in the House by Represent>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23

Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]

ANN FAQ: Submit a News Story!

Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: One Man’s Vietnam

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]

Klyde Morris (06.30.25)

What Goes Around, May Yet Come Back Around, Klyde FMI: www.klydemorris.com>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC