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Stuart G

(38,445 posts)
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 03:42 PM Feb 2023

Brand New 747 Jet Scrapped After Just 16 Flights

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: CNN


A Boeing 747 configured as a private VIP jet is being scrapped after having spent just 30 hours in service over 16 flights. The aircraft, originally intended for a Saudi royal, sat on the ground for almost 10 years at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, located at the border between France, Switzerland and Germany.There, it was meant to be fitted with a lavish interior, but that never happened, and after failing to find a new buyer, the plane was eventually flown to Pinal Airpark in Arizona – an aircraft boneyard where retired planes get stripped for parts or stored indefinitely.

The plane is a BBJ, for “Boeing Business Jet” – heavily modified editions of Boeing’s jetliners targeted to governments and corporate clients. Its range of over 10,000 miles and cabin space of about 5,000 square feet are unrivaled by any other business aircraft.

It’s also the most advanced model of the Boeing 747 ever produced – the 747-8 variant – which first flew in 2010 but failed to find commercial success due to being expensive to operate. The final one, delivered to cargo operator Atlas Air in early 2023, marked the end of the 747’s production history, though the variant still has a future in the spotlight: two 747-8s are currently being transformed into the next Air Force One planes.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/boeing-747-vip-jet-scrapped/index.html

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Brand New 747 Jet Scrapped After Just 16 Flights (Original Post) Stuart G Feb 2023 OP
10 years old is not "brand new", CNN muriel_volestrangler Feb 2023 #1
Right??? NullTuples Feb 2023 #3
Nice of Trump to saddle future presidents with an out-of-production plane... NullTuples Feb 2023 #2
Not really jmowreader Feb 2023 #4
This was probably more secret service Sgent Feb 2023 #5
Does our military not have any suitable 4-engine jets? NullTuples Feb 2023 #6
Locking JudyM Feb 2023 #7

muriel_volestrangler

(101,361 posts)
1. 10 years old is not "brand new", CNN
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 03:45 PM
Feb 2023

Bit of a clickbait headline they chose. "Barely used" would be accurate.

NullTuples

(6,017 posts)
3. Right???
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 03:48 PM
Feb 2023

NullTuples

(6,017 posts)
2. Nice of Trump to saddle future presidents with an out-of-production plane...
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 03:47 PM
Feb 2023

Tell me that won't skyrocket repair and maintenance costs even more than usual?

jmowreader

(50,562 posts)
4. Not really
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 04:45 PM
Feb 2023

There are a LOT of 747s in cargo service, so Boeing will continue to stock parts and have tech support for them.

Sgent

(5,857 posts)
5. This was probably more secret service
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 05:59 PM
Feb 2023

They want a 4 engine plane for security reasons since it will stand up better to attempts to shoot it down. This isn't a consideration in commercial aviation usually, and other than the A380 (which didn't even bid on the contract) the 747 was the only plane that fit. The 747 also has much better flight characteristics than something like the 777 for things like short runways or fast landings in case of contested airspace.

In 30 years a compromise may need to be made, but buying two 747's at the end of their run was a smart move for taxpayers.

NullTuples

(6,017 posts)
6. Does our military not have any suitable 4-engine jets?
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 06:26 PM
Feb 2023

JudyM

(29,277 posts)
7. Locking
Wed Feb 15, 2023, 07:36 PM
Feb 2023

Sorry, the hosts voted to lock this as not meeting the importance standard for LBN, but you can repost it in the General Discussion forum if you’d like.

LBN’s SOP:

This discussion thread violates the Statement of Purpose for the Latest Breaking News forum. Statement of purpose: Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.
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