Qantas 747 says goodbye.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Wonder why it was going to LAX?

I saw the other week that two Qantas A380s were ferried across to Victorville (presumably Southern California Logistics Airport). I assume the plan is to place them into storage until such time as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts are reduced.

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/f...6001/#24fe816b

I had only ever flown on a Qantas B747 once, from Melbourne to Perth for work. The aircon played up and there was a stream of water coming from the cabin roof directly on to a passenger. The plane was chockers and they had nowhere else to move her to.

There was a mix up at the gates on arrival into Perth and we disembarked at the same time as a B747 from Sydney. That plane also looked full. If you've ever been to Perth domestic airport before, you'll know that all the gates lead down a set of escalators and then exit through a small door into the arrivals foyer. You could imagine the chaos caused by two B747s full of passengers trying to get out through that door! People were getting onto the escalator at the top, not realising that there was a jam at the bottom and people were having to walk backwards on the escalator to stop running into the people in front of them

To top it off, they then decided to place both aircraft's luggage onto the one carousel

A sad day to see the end of an era in Australian aviation history.

[raceteam]

Originally Posted by FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0

Wonder why it was going to LAX?

It was a freight flight so had to unload.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by raceteam

It was a freight flight so had to unload.

Cool. Thanks for the info. Do you know where it was going after that?

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0

Cool. Thanks for the info. Do you know where it was going after that?

There is a place in the Mojave Desert where old planes go once they are out of Service. They call it the plane Graveyard... The dry air helps with preservation as some are used for spare's...

As for the OP, it really is a sad day for aviation. My dad tells me storys about when he used to go Overseas for business in the 70's and the upstairs section was a bar/lounge where he'd spend most of the flight and arrive at destination a little worse for wear.... I always wanted to fly on one before they where taken out of use and, thankfully, I was lucky enough to fly on a Qantas 747 a few years ago from BNE to LAX and back...

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by Big_Daz

There is a place in the Mojave Desert where old planes go once they are out of Service. They call it the plane Graveyard... The dry air helps with preservation as some are used for spare's...

There's quite a few boneyards in the States. See my earlier post re Qantas A380s going to Victorville, for eg.

I also read in this article that the airframe has been sold, but Qantas won't divulge the new owner, so it may not end up in a boneyard.

The final fate of this last aircraft remains a mystery, with Qantas confirming it has been sold but declining to reveal any further details.

[gregaust]

Originally Posted by FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0

There's quite a few boneyards in the States. See my earlier post re Qantas A380s going to Victorville, for eg.

Yes there is quite a few littered throughout the desert in SoCal and Arizona.

Came across one in actual town of Mojave on the 58 freeway between Bakersfield and Barstow. Was quite spectacular to see. All the planes there looked in surprisingly good condition in the dry desert

[Mainforcepatrol]

Originally Posted by FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0

There's quite a few boneyards in the States. See my earlier post re Qantas A380s going to Victorville, for eg.

I also read in this article that the airframe has been sold, but Qantas won't divulge the new owner, so it may not end up in a boneyard.

I did briefly read a snippet that General Electric have purchased it as a test aircraft for future engine development.The last Qantas 747-400 with Rolls Royce engines was bought by Rolls Royce for the the same purpose.

[M&Ms]

Originally Posted by Mainforcepatrol

I did briefly read a snippet that General Electric have purchased it as a test aircraft for future engine development.The last Qantas 747-400 with Rolls Royce engines was bought by Rolls Royce for the the same purpose.

Interesting. Do you mind sharing the article?

[raceteam]

Originally Posted by FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0

Cool. Thanks for the info. Do you know where it was going after that?

Was heading to the Mojave desert plane wreckers yard!
The full media release from QANTAS is here but is far too long to copy and paste in here.

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0

I saw the other week that two Qantas A380s were ferried across to Victorville (presumably Southern California Logistics Airport). I assume the plan is to place them into storage until such time as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts are reduced.

The A380s won't be back. There was a glut of them even before COVID. It's most likely they'll be broken up for spares in a few years. The A380's time came and went very quickly.

[Adamz Ghia]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

The A380s won't be back. There was a glut of them even before COVID. It's most likely they'll be broken up for spares in a few years. The A380's time came and went very quickly.

A380 is easily my favourite plane to fly in. Smoothest flight you can get.

Plenty of stories on the plane, it’s time had passed before it was even put into service.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

The A380s won't be back. There was a glut of them even before COVID. It's most likely they'll be broken up for spares in a few years. The A380's time came and went very quickly.

I disagree - All the hard work and investment has been done. Once developing countries start to have populations with spending money the economics will return them to the sky.

I think when that happens they will also stretch the fuselage to accommodate 1000 economy class pax. Apparently the wings were designed from the start for this, which is why they appear way oversize and out of proportion compared to a 747.

[Mainforcepatrol]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I disagree - All the hard work and investment has been done. Once developing countries start to have populations with spending money the economics will return them to the sky.

I think when that happens they will also stretch the fuselage to accommodate 1000 economy class pax. Apparently the wings were designed from the start for this, which is why they appear way oversize and out of proportion compared to a 747.

A380 production ends in 2021 so that will not happen.Emirates were trying to offload a number of the last batch that are due shortly.Airbus came out with an A380 plus model with larger winglets and other fuel efficiency savings a few years ago and no airline was interested.Yes it was designed for an extended fuselage however i think Airbus were aware they were in trouble a few years into production.A great plane to fly in but it has missed its time as the big twin engine widebodies have taken over.

[M&Ms]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

The A380s won't be back. There was a glut of them even before COVID. It's most likely they'll be broken up for spares in a few years. The A380's time came and went very quickly.

As someone who flies frequently, I don' think (and hope this won't be) the case. The big whale makes the trip that bit more pleasant (and without it being 100% booked, more often than not can sit with an empty seat next to you). I specifically pick flights on the A380 wherever possible, including Sydney-Dallas, Sydney-Singapore, and Sydney-London.
Several years ago I'd even hop on to the Emirates Sydney-Auckland flight that was served by the A380 (I think that's been dropped now)

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by M&Ms

As someone who flies frequently, I don' think (and hope this won't be) the case. The big whale makes the trip that bit more pleasant (and without it being 100% booked, more often than not can sit with an empty seat next to you). I specifically pick flights on the A380 wherever possible, including Sydney-Dallas, Sydney-Singapore, and Sydney-London.
Several years ago I'd even hop on to the Emirates Sydney-Auckland flight that was served by the A380 (I think that's been dropped now)

For sure 100% my favourite plane to Europe. Travelled all classes and can’t fault it. But the A350 and Dreamliner are much better ships and cheaper to operate.