Am i correct in saying that airlines are going off 747`s and using 777`s more?

Question

i think it is because they are more economical but i get the impression that despite the fact they look and probably are smaller more and more airlines are using them for long distance routes. i mean air nz use them to cross the pacific and that`s a 12 hour haul so they must be popular

Answer 1

apparently  so .  the airlines are saying they are better than the 747 and can fit more people on

Answer 2

My brother's airline, Hawaiian, is phasing out all their 767-300s and replacing them with Airbus A350s and A330s. The originally were going to get the 777s but after crunching all the numbers, the Airbus was going to be the better plane for them. As a note, most of their 767s are not that old. They replaced their fleet of DC-8s in the early 90's.

Answer 3

Some do, yes.

However the 747 still carries a much larger payload, so there will continue to be strong demand for the '47 for many years.

The 777 is more efficient than the 747 for passenger use, but due o its increased hauling capability, the 747 is still the choice among cargo and combi- applications.

Answer 4

The 777 is a little bit smaller than the 747 but they can hold similar amounts of passengers. (777-300 3 class 368 vs 747-400 3 class 416) not to mention the 777-300ER has a longer range 8000nm.

Answer 5

Trends come and go in the airline industry just as in any other domain, and currently some of the major air travel markets—particularly the United States—favor lots of flights in smaller planes as opposed to less frequent flights in larger planes.  At one time there was a lot of cross-country service in the USA on 747s, but now there aren't any 747 domestic flights for passengers.  It's not that one aircraft is better or worse than another, it's just a matter of the priorities the airlines have, and the aircraft that best fit their current business models.  Right now they'd rather have five flights in 737s than one flight in a 747.

However, 747s are doing very well for long-haul flights and cargo. And they are still the fastest airliners in the air.

The 777 actually isn't much different in size from the 747. Other aircraft such as the 757 and 737 are considerably smaller and handier for short, frequent routes.

It would be nice if 747s were used more, as it's more energy-efficient to fly a fully-loaded 747 than it is to fly multiple smaller aircraft, but that's not the way the USA market is right now.  Outside the USA, some Asian markets still favor 747s for relatively short hauls.

Answer 6

Correct in that they are ordering 777's.  There are more 747's currently in service.

Answer 7

You are correct.  Airlines are more apt to put the twin-engine 777, 757, 767, A330, A320 on trans-Atlantic routes.  They cost less per passenger and there are just too many carriers and routes bridging the Atlantic coasts.  Therefore there is no demand for a 400 plus passenger airliner.    The 747s are utilized more on the trans-pacific routes.  Even some trans-pacific routes are seeing more Extended Range 777s taking place of the 47.  There will always be a demand for the 747, but not on passenger trans-Atlantic routes.   The -400 will solder on with more of them being converted to Freighters and the 747-800 will take their place.   I suspect that you will only be able to fly the giants like the 747-800 and A380 on super long haul and trans-pacific routes.

Answer 8

It totally depends on the amount of people traveling the route. The more seats to spread the cost over the better. Kinda the same reason semis and trains and ships are far more efficient than people think.

Answer 9

The Boeing 747 was first introduced in the 1960's.  Many of the individual airplanes have been retired due to reaching their planned service life, but the aircraft type is still in production, and new 747s are still rolling off the assembly line.

Answer 10

Just returned from a transatlantic flight which usually was 747 but was 777 this time.  I liked it, but really...it was no different.

Answer 11

A few years ago you would be correct...just a few weeks ago I read that United was returning some 777 to the lessor and exchanging them for 747-400's which have a much lower lease rate.

But if there is one thing in life that no one knows anything about is airline economics!?