V-Flyer

Some of the 747s are now looking very tired indeed and I was wondering if they will be replaced or is it the intention to replace the entire fleet of 747s with the A380 - We could be waiting

Sort of like trading in your car because the ash-trays are full?

Decker , but the older ones must due to be changed or will they hold out for the new air bus

I actually found that G-VFAB (the oldest VS plane now that a couple of 343's have gone i believe) was in better condition than G-VWOW, which is the second newest 744. So its nothing a bit of paint and some TLC cant fix!

G-VFAB is only 12/13 years old, that is still quite young in terms of aircraft.

Thanks,
Sarah

Originally posted by HighFlyer
G-VFAB is only 12/13 years old, that is still quite young in terms of aircraft.

Indeed. In a previous life I did some work related to aircraft leasing and was stunned by the age of some of the aircraft; my first thought was that I'd think twice about getting into a car of that vintage. Later of course I realed that aircraft tend to be better maintained than the family saloon, of course. I guess as long as the airframes hold out the rest can be refitted.

Personally I think the 747-400 an attractive workhorse, and close to a design classic, more so than the A-3X0 series.

Paul

Many of BA's 747s are 15+ years old, for example G-BNLA first flew in 1989. However no news of when they might be replaced.

The above provided as an illustration that pure time is not necessarily the measure of how 'aged' a plane is. We also take into account flying time, aircraft condition and maintenance etc.

Virgin's fleet is relatively young and a 12 yo Jumbo has plenty of time left in it.

That said, hopefully some of the promised improvements to durability of UCS and the new livery will smarten things up where they have become a bit tatty.

Originally posted by porsche911
Some of the 747s are now looking very tired indeed and I was wondering if they will be replaced or is it the intention to replace the entire fleet of 747s with the A380 - We could be waiting

In any case, they are hardly going to replace them given that they are about to reconfigure the LHR 747s

How does the age of VS cmpare with SIA - I believe that they have a young fleet - saying that maybe their 747s are also getting old now that they are in the same position as VS with the 380. I flew to Moscow for a football match several years ago on a plabe I think from Iceland . It was a 747 and must have been one of the early ones - nOw that was scary but to be honest - Got 500 odd Irish supporters there and back. NOt the best on the inside but did run like a baby - How many 747s has VS at the moment and how many 380s have they on order?

I was reading on another forum that an early (mid ninties) 777 had just been sent to the breakers yard. I think the reasoning was that the lack of care and attention its now bankrupt previous owners gave it meant it was too expensive to put right.
So yes, I think well cared for aircraft can keep going for a very long time, where as a much younger but poorly cared for one is "beyond repair".

I suggest you look here

Originally posted by porsche911
How does the age of VS cmpare with SIA - I believe that they have a young fleet - saying that maybe their 747s are also getting old now that they are in the same position as VS with the 380. I flew to Moscow for a football match several years ago on a plabe I think from Iceland . It was a 747 and must have been one of the early ones - nOw that was scary but to be honest - Got 500 odd Irish supporters there and back. NOt the best on the inside but did run like a baby - How many 747s has VS at the moment and how many 380s have they on order?

Airfleets comes up with the result

SIA Avg 6.6 years as a whole fleet and 9.1 years on the 747
BA Avg 10.2 tears as an whole fleet and 12.1 years on 747
VS Avg 5.8 years as a whole fleet and 7.3 years on the 747


Jon B

When looking at aircraft you have to look at the number of cycles it has done (take offs and landings) along with the maintenance history of the plane.

Simon you are referring to the Varig T7? If so it wasn't just the fact that Varig tends to destroy planes, it was a very early modle, with limited range and MTOW, Boeing figured they could get for money selling it to be parted out then leasing it which they had been doing to Varig.

Jon,
Thanks for that. Was just going to say that every 747 of VS that I've flown looks like the queen of the fleet. Love the 747!

Chuck-

Originally posted by ChuckC
Jon,
Thanks for that. Was just going to say that every 747 of VS that I've flown looks like the queen of the fleet. Love the 747!

Chuck-

Have to agree, like the Airbus but LOVE the 747's. Lets hope they remain around with VS for a while

Jon B

Thats good then - I for some reason thought that VS 747s were a lot older - Thanks

As Sarah says, VFAB was the first 747-400 delivered to Virgin in 1994. It had a major interior refit a year or two ago which included the installation of VPort, so will look better than most of the other 747's.

VFAB, VHOT, VBIG are all about the same age range (93/94)
VROC/VWOW (03)
VROS, VROY, VROM, VLIP, VGAL (01)

1994 is fairness is not old - I just got the opinion that some were a lot older and vs were holding off till the 380 comes on line - but I was incorrect - thanks anyway

G-VIRG was around until a few years ago wasn't it? And that was the original a/c AFAIK although ISTBC.

VS.

Originally posted by G-VFLY
VFAB, VHOT, VBIG are all about the same age range (93/94)
VROC/VWOW (03)
VROS, VROY, VROM, VLIP, VGAL (01)

VFAB and VHOT were delivered in 1994.
VBIG was 1996.
VAST was 1997.
VXLG was 1998.
VROS, VGAL, VLIP, VROM, VROY and VWOW were 2001.
VROC was 2003.

And from what i heard, VROC will be the last 744 for a while because Boeing are charging too much for the 744 and unwilling to negotiate with VS.

VS just extended the leases on most, if not all, of its 747-400 fleet to compensate for the A380s arriving in 2013, so I wouldn't count them out just yet. I'm hoping that VS buys or leases some 747-8s simply because I think the small upper deck is a classic, unique feature that cannot be lost to the A380's.

Yeah the 747 are still may favorite to fly with - Its just a beautiful bird - the size and of course - the bubble - I love flying up there - so quiet

Big article in yesterday's New York Times discussing how airlines are switching their orders from the A380 to the new 747-8. There are several good pictures of the early days of the 747, including a rather unfortunate one showing an American Airlines 747-100 economy "lounge" with some bloke playing an electric organ and everyone sitting around in a circle in a singalong; the best thing about the picture is seeing all the extra room behind the man -- no seats!

Chuck-

Did I hear at one stage Virgin had some kind of band as a gimmic in the early days playing on board to "entertain" the passangers - or was I dreaming again?