LONDON / BENGALURU (Reuters) – British Airways, the world’s largest Boeing 747 operator, will withdraw its entire fleet of jumbo jets with immediate effect after the new coronavirus pandemic sent air travel into freefall.
FILE PHOTO: A British Airways Boeing 747-400 taxi at San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, February 14, 2015. REUTERS / Louis Nastro
For over 50 years, Boeing’s (PROHIBITION“The Queen of Heaven” has been the easiest plane to recognize in the world with its hunchbacked fuselage and four engines, but its days had already been numbered before the pandemic hit earlier this year.
BA had planned to retire the plane in 2024, but with the number of passengers decimated this year and predictions that it will be years before they recover, the airline said its 747s were unlikely to return to commercial operation for it.
“It is with great sadness that we can confirm that we are proposing to withdraw our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect,” BA said in a statement Thursday.
The 747 aircraft democratized world air travel in the 1970s, but lagged behind modern twin-engine aircraft and now follows newer aircraft in fuel efficiency, making it expensive to operate.
“While the aircraft will always have a special place in our hearts, as we move into the future, we will operate more flights on modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as our new A350s and 787s,” added BA.
The chief executive of British Airways has said that the company, owned by IAG (ICAG.L), faces a battle for survival due to the pandemic, which has meant travel restrictions around the world for most of this year.
BA has said it needs to cut up to 12,000 jobs, or about 28% of its workforce, to prepare for the smaller travel market expected in the coming years.
The Sun reported last month that BA had reached an agreement with its pilots to fire 350 and another 300 in ‘pool’ to rehire them when necessary. Most of the pilots ‘grouped’ were expected to be the first officers of the jumbo jet.
US-based Boeing, and its suppliers signaled the end of the plane, when they established the final number of parts it would need for the 747 jumbo jet program at least a year ago.
Report by Maria Ponnezhath in Bangalore, Sherry Jacob-Phillips / Guy Faulconbridge Edition
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