Another operate is preparing to say goodbye to its Boeing 747 fleet, with Air France the latest airline to put the jumbo jet out to pasture.
Air France Boeing 747 Arriving at CDG after its final International Flight – Image, Air France via Twitter
Air France completed its long haul operations with a flight between Mexico City and Paris Charles De Gaulle.
All that remains are two scenic flights – operated as AF744 and AF747 on the 14th January 2016, and the Boeing 747s history with Air France will come to a close.
Air France has operated many variants of the Boeing 747 fleet, including:
- Boeing 747-100 (Retired in 2008)
- Boeing 747-200B (Passenger version – Retired in 2005)
- Boeing 747-200F (Freighter version – Retired in 2003)
- Boeing 747-300 (Retired in 2007)
- Boeing 747-400BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter – Retired 2011)
- Boeing 747-400ERF (Extended Range Freighter – Retired 2015)
Air France itself has chosen to shun the next generation Boeing 747 (The Boeing 747-8i, which a lot of airlines have done), and rather it has turned to the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777-300ER to provide its long haul/heavy lift operations in its world wide operation.
Lets not make any bones about this – this is another chapter closing on the Boeing 747 history. Airlines sadly do not run on past romances or love of an aircraft type. Rather, they run on lower costs, which the big twins deliver, and the 747 doesn’t.
Still – there are plenty of airlines that have Boeing 747s in their long haul fleets (Lufthansa, British Airways, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Qantas, Air China, China Airlines, Korean Air, Air India… and so on), so there will be plenty of time to fly aboard the Queen of the Sky.
But don’t delay too long.
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