scheduled PAX capacity of Boeing 747 below that of Airbus A380 for first time

[CaptJCool]

The slow death of the Boeing 747 – Quartz

Seems one must freight themselves if they want to get a rid on a jumbo in the not too distant future...

The scheduled passenger capacity of the Boeing 747—as measured in available seat miles—dropped below that of the double-decker Airbus A380 for the first time ever in 2014. Published schedules through 2015 show airlines will continue to increase their use of the A380, and reduce the use of 747s, according to data from PlaneStats.com.

i did like the individual airline charts too

 

[Isochronous]

This is a sad day. If only the 748 had been more popular!

 

[Aussie_flyer]

This is a sad day. If only the 748 had been more popular!

Its not over for the 748 yet

 

[harvyk]

I'd say this is more of an effect of 777's taking over traditional 747 routes over the last 20 years. The A380 ain't exactly a popular aircraft amongst airlines. The 777 on the other hand is flown by almost every major international airline out there.

 

[cosi]

The 777 on the other hand is flown by almost every major international airline out there.

Excluding QF

 

[TomVexille]

Sad day for the queen

 

[AIRwin]

Excluding QF

But including VA!

 

[Jay Cee]

This is a sad day. If only the 748 had been more popular!

+1 perhaps some airlines (enough) will reconsider their commitment to Boeing.

 

[seanpodge]

I'd say this is more of an effect of 777's taking over traditional 747 routes over the last 20 years. The A380 ain't exactly a popular aircraft amongst airlines. The 777 on the other hand is flown by almost every major international airline out there.

Agree. The 777 series has pretty much cannibalised the 747 line.

That said, LH and now CA are flying 748s, so it's not too late to fly one.

 

[juddles]

IMHO (shared I believe by Tim Clark of Emirates fame) the current love affair with twin engine aircraft is a foolish short-term thing. Pax numbers in the near future, combined with the excrutiatingly slow construction of airport capacity, will place a bottleneck on aircraft movements, which will demand the largest aircraft. Still maybe a decade away before this really starts to bite. But it will.

 

[jb747]

IMHO (shared I believe by Tim Clark of Emirates fame) the current love affair with twin engine aircraft is a foolish short-term thing. Pax numbers in the near future, combined with the excrutiatingly slow construction of airport capacity, will place a bottleneck on aircraft movements, which will demand the largest aircraft. Still maybe a decade away before this really starts to bite. But it will.

It won't matter if the makers cease producing them. I certainly don't expect there to be a next generation. As for airport capacity, bigger improvements can come at the lower end...by upping the size of the smaller aircraft. At an ATC briefing that I attended in London, the controllers said that the A380 was actually reducing the capacity of Heathrow, because of its wake separation requirements, and runway occupancy time.