Now Qantas has officially retired the Boeing 747 from service… but wait.
A few days ago, Qantas confirmed it has retired the Boeing 747. Previously, everyone thought they were retired on March 29, 2020, but Qantas stated there was a possibility of returning the 747 service.
However, this is no longer the case as they will be “retiring the six remaining 747s immediately, six months ahead of schedule”.
Although Qantas says they have six remaining, there’s technically only one left in Sydney, VH-OEJ, which had the “Wunala Dreaming” livery in the picture above before being repainted to a standard Qantas livery years later. VH-OEJ is expected to ferry to Los Angeles and eventually the desert.
As a result of the early 747 retirement, there will be around 1,900 job losses in addition to more job cuts.
Along with this, Qantas will defer its upcoming deliveries for the A321neo and more 787s.
However, Qantas will operate several Boeing 747 farewell flights in a few weeks.
The airline will operate three-hour long scenic flights out of Sydney, Brisbane, and Canberra.
More details and ticket sales are expected to be announced next week.
Seats will be available for sale in Business/Economy. Premium Economy will be reserved for employees.
Older Info: Qatar Airways will retire all 777-200LRs and 777-300ERs by 2024.
Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker has revealed plans to retire the current passenger 777s over the next 3-4 years.
Qatar Airways has 48 Boeing 777-300ERs and nine 777-200LRs in its fleet. These will be replaced by the airline’s orders for 60 of Boeing’s new 777X.
The 60 777X orders will act almost as a one-to-one replacement:
- 48 777-300ERs replaced by 50 777-9s.
- 9 777-200LRs replaced by 10 777-8s
This decision is somewhat surprising as Qatar Airways took delivery of its newest 777-300ER in July 2018, meaning the aircraft will be retired when it’s just 6 years old. Additionally, Qatar Airways has been refurbishing these 777s with their new Qsuite, so it’s interesting to see Qatar have the seats on the 777s for just several years.
Qatar’s oldest 777s were built in 2007 meaning they will have flown 16-17 years upon retirement. These aircraft will likely find new life in the second-hand market since they’ll be fairly new when retired.
Sources/Images
Qantas Release: https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20200625/pdf/44jy0tcyp3h22r.pdf
Qatar Airways Retirement: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/qatar-boeing-777-retirement
Qantas 747 farewell flight: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/qantas-boeing-747-retirement-flights-for-sydney-brisbane-canberra
Qantas 747: https://www.airliners.net/photo/Qantas/Boeing-747-438-ER/1321057/L
Qatar 777: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ediney/12747275703
Now this marks the end of an era for Qantas. Previously, there was some hope of seeing the 747 return, but it’s all gone. As for Qatar Airways, there’s still four years left, assuming the decision stays.