UA employees have been informed the 747 fleet will be gone by year's end.

United is speeding up retirement of its 747-400. All will be out of the fleet by the end of the year instead of by October 2018.

https://twitter.com/jonostrower/status/ ... 9305541632

United will retire its 747s by the end of THIS YEAR, not 2018, president Kirby tells employees today.

https://twitter.com/e_russell/status/819216233472131072

I'm hoping to visit SFO in October. Hope they are still there

Wait... what!?!?

Sad to see that UA will no longer be flying the Queen of the skies.

Nooooo!!!!!! I was going to try and get on one in March of 2018 for the last time!! Super sad.

In April of this year, I need to go to Madrid from Des Moines. Does anybody know what routes 747 are flying to Europe from EWR, IAD or ORD that I could use to connect to Madrid?

I tried to fly a 747 a year ago from ORD-FRA but there was an equipment swap the day of the flight to a 777. I was soooo mad!!! Took me 6 months to calm down, I paid several hundred more for my flight just so I could get on the 747 vs a different flight. Thing was, the guy sitting next to me in business class did the exact same thing and was equally mad.

It was also publically announced by UA on Facebook.

Smart move, makes complete sense - the 747 is now suboptimal for United in terms of both cost (4 engines vs 2) and revenue (inferior product offering compared to newer airplanes replacing it). I'll be as sad as anyone to see fewer and fewer 747s around the world, but from an economic point of view, it's entirely understandable why most remaining operators are steadily getting rid of them.

One of the prettiest aircraft in the skies. From an enthusiast point of view, it will be missed. From a pax point of view, good riddance. A maintenance hog, out of date interior (though that's not the plane's fault), and louder than I care to deal with. I took one in J HKG-SFO a few months ago and it was just a total letdown. Give me a 787 anytime.
This certainly aligns with the 'all 77Ws going to SFO' chatter of late.

joeljack wrote:

Nooooo!!!!!! I was going to try and get on one in March of 2018 for the last time!! Super sad.

In April of this year, I need to go to Madrid from Des Moines. Does anybody know what routes 747 are flying to Europe from EWR, IAD or ORD that I could use to connect to Madrid?

I tried to fly a 747 a year ago from ORD-FRA but there was an equipment swap the day of the flight to a 777. I was soooo mad!!! Took me 6 months to calm down, I paid several hundred more for my flight just so I could get on the 747 vs a different flight. Thing was, the guy sitting next to me in business class did the exact same thing and was equally mad.

On United? None unless you want to go through SFO. If you want 747 service to Europe out of those airports you listed your best bet would be LH out of ORD or IAD.

joeljack wrote:

Nooooo!!!!!! I was going to try and get on one in March of 2018 for the last time!! Super sad.

In April of this year, I need to go to Madrid from Des Moines. Does anybody know what routes 747 are flying to Europe from EWR, IAD or ORD that I could use to connect to Madrid?

I tried to fly a 747 a year ago from ORD-FRA but there was an equipment swap the day of the flight to a 777. I was soooo mad!!! Took me 6 months to calm down, I paid several hundred more for my flight just so I could get on the 747 vs a different flight. Thing was, the guy sitting next to me in business class did the exact same thing and was equally mad.

SFO-LHR/FRA will have 747s in April. I believe that those are the only two, since they no longer use the 747 out of ORD, haven't used them at IAD in awhile, and havent used them in EWR. Those two may be your only chance I am afraid.

We appear to have lost the SFO 747 here at LHR, now getting the T7 unless this is a seasonal thing.

readytotaxi wrote:

We appear to have lost the SFO 747 here at LHR, now getting the T7 unless this is a seasonal thing.

According to UA's website, it is seasonal. The 744 comes back for the summer on UA 900/901, just as it has the last few years.

NOOOOOOOOOOO! That sucks. Flew on one in Dec, UA58 SFO-FRA. Figured it was my last UA 747 ride though. As much as I have avoided these birds the last decade, I will surely miss them. Makes sense though for UA since their utilization has been in the crapper lately. Just watch how often UA 58, UA869 to HKG and UA 871 to TPE normally are on a daily basis, it's shocking how often it happens really.

Long live the 747, you'll be missed

Such a shame but inevitable. I assume you guys in the US will be treated to the 747 flying around the system in the weeks leading up to her withdrawal?

Ultimately its likely the fuel tank inerting requirement that is driving the end of 2017 withdrawls for UA and DL. The ROI isn't there.

fry530 wrote:

joeljack wrote:

Nooooo!!!!!! I was going to try and get on one in March of 2018 for the last time!! Super sad.

In April of this year, I need to go to Madrid from Des Moines. Does anybody know what routes 747 are flying to Europe from EWR, IAD or ORD that I could use to connect to Madrid?

I tried to fly a 747 a year ago from ORD-FRA but there was an equipment swap the day of the flight to a 777. I was soooo mad!!! Took me 6 months to calm down, I paid several hundred more for my flight just so I could get on the 747 vs a different flight. Thing was, the guy sitting next to me in business class did the exact same thing and was equally mad.

SFO-LHR/FRA will have 747s in April. I believe that those are the only two, since they no longer use the 747 out of ORD, haven't used them at IAD in awhile, and havent used them in EWR. Those two may be your only chance I am afraid.

Yep, FRA and LHR (seasonal) are the only two bets in Europe really. Hell, might do a mileage run on UA58 this year just for the purpose of flying on one, one last time.

joeljack wrote:

Nooooo!!!!!! I was going to try and get on one in March of 2018 for the last time!! Super sad.

In April of this year, I need to go to Madrid from Des Moines. Does anybody know what routes 747 are flying to Europe from EWR, IAD or ORD that I could use to connect to Madrid?

I tried to fly a 747 a year ago from ORD-FRA but there was an equipment swap the day of the flight to a 777. I was soooo mad!!! Took me 6 months to calm down, I paid several hundred more for my flight just so I could get on the 747 vs a different flight. Thing was, the guy sitting next to me in business class did the exact same thing and was equally mad.

BA fly the 747 from ORD. Don't panic though, BA will be flying them for years and years to come!

I love the 747s but UA has done a pretty sh*tty job maintaining the aircraft, seats, IFE/PDE, and WiFi (presumably because they are retiring it. Fast.) I was delayed between 2-to-7 hours constantly when flying SFO/TPE and SFO/HKG. Once I was on UA862 and neither PDE nor WiFi worked. And another time, my UA872, supposedly TPE-SFO, turned into TPE-NRT-SFO and swapped aircraft at NRT.

Oh, my neighbor will be upset. He flies UA 744s...

But the economics are brutal. No one pays extra for 4 engines, so cut the costs. I love the 747, but it's time is soon.

Lightsaber

Yup, UA901 / 900 looks like it's still a B744 for the summer, if that looks like staying, I'll be choosing that as my SFO ride this summer
In fairness the B77W looks awesome in UNITED colours, for everything there is a time.....

Pretty much confirms the 14 77Ws currently on order will be all SFO based and a pretty good chance a top off order for 77Ws is coming shortly.

Will these aircraft be sold to a Hajj operator?

With nearly all of SFO's B744 routes turning to 77W this summer, there will only be a few European and Chinese routes left with the B744.....so sad

With more 777-300ER deliveries this year it looks like no capacity will be lost when the 744s are retired.

I imagine the addition of the 77W is the main factor in UA's decision?

In my mind UA has historically been a 747 airline. When I have my rose colored glasses on, I see a UA 747 in Saul Bass livery. So, while totally logical, it is sad. I wonder what kind of send off salute to the Queen UA will do?

joeljack wrote:

Nooooo!!!!!! I was going to try and get on one in March of 2018 for the last time!! Super sad.

In April of this year, I need to go to Madrid from Des Moines. Does anybody know what routes 747 are flying to Europe from EWR, IAD or ORD that I could use to connect to Madrid?

I tried to fly a 747 a year ago from ORD-FRA but there was an equipment swap the day of the flight to a 777. I was soooo mad!!! Took me 6 months to calm down, I paid several hundred more for my flight just so I could get on the 747 vs a different flight. Thing was, the guy sitting next to me in business class did the exact same thing and was equally mad.

Take Lufthansa via FRA , they will give you an -8i (much much rarer & definetly one for the Bucket List) if you shop around!

Good riddance!

I absolutely love the 747, it is truly iconic. However, UA's ones are in terrible shape and are often prone to mechanical delays.

I believe that they don't have any AVOD in Y, is that still the case?

BA/LH will be flying theirs for many years yet, so plenty of opportunities to catch one...

I wonder what the new timeline for retirement is now? So sad, it is pretty medieval on amenities and entertainment, but still love to fly her, I go out of my way to catch 747's when I go back and forth to Thailand, going in March and on my return will be going through TPE specifically to try and get 1st class on the UA747, been in business on the upper deck, but never 1st class in the nose, hoping to get either seats 4A or 4K, then my life in the 747 will be complete

How much slack is built into the current 744 fleet? I know at least 1 unit is a dedicated charter frame and that leaves 20 remaining 744s on property. Does UA keep a few back-up planes in SFO for contigency purposes and if so, how many? 14 77Ws and 3 789s scheduled to arrive this year won't fill the vacuum left by 21 744s especially if additional 772s flying Int'l are being converted to domestic birds.

Could there be another source of new/used planes to backfill the fleet?

Scotts' message

Farewell to the Queen of the Skies
January 11, 2017

There's something very special about a Boeing 747. It's the one aircraft that even casual travelers can easily identify. And we know that the experience of traveling on one, or flying one, is unforgettable.

As deeply connected as we all are to this iconic aircraft, the time has come to retire our 747 fleet from scheduled service. Last March, we announced that this would occur by the end of 2018; now we plan to operate our last 747 flight in the fourth quarter of this year.

It's a bittersweet milestone -- this jumbo jet with its unmistakable silhouette once represented the state-of-the-art in air travel. Today, there are more fuel-efficient, cost-effective and reliable widebody aircraft that provide an updated inflight experience for our customers traveling on long-haul flights.

For these reasons, we're saying farewell to the Queen of the Skies, which has been part of our fleet since we first flew the aircraft between California and Hawaii in 1970.

We'll be working with all of you who fly or work on the 747s to ensure a smooth transition to other fleets. And of course, we'll honor the 747 with an unforgettable retirement celebration -- we'll keep you posted with more details on her final flight in the months ahead.

Thank you for all that you are doing. I am so proud and excited about the great future we're building together as we create the best airline in the world.

Scott

=

My only 747 ride was SFO-SYD in 2013 in Y. It has been my dream to fly in the nose or hump of the 747. I will have to make this happen this year since I nonrev on UA.

It goes great with my New Year's resolution of visiting another continent so I can kill 2 birds with one stone!

Q&A reference 747 retirements.


When will we operate our final 747 flight?

We will cease operating the Boeing 747 during the fourth quarter of this year. We will announce an exact date within the next few weeks.

Why are we retiring the 747?

While the 747 has been a cherished part of the United family for nearly half a century, today there are more fuel-efficient, cost-effective and reliable widebody aircraft that provide an updated experience for our customers traveling on long-haul flights.

Why are we now retiring the 747s even earlier than originally intended?

The 747 has been an iconic aircraft for decades. However, as our 747-400s have aged in recent years, the fleet requires routing limitations, extra Tech Ops attention, burns twenty percent more fuel per seat than the 777-300ER and has the lowest customer satisfaction scores in our fleet. Additionally, most carriers have already retired these aircraft, making parts availability a challenge.

When will these fleet changes be reflected in the schedule?

We’ll be sure to share the final flight timing with you within the next few weeks before any aircraft changes are reflected in the schedule.

What aircraft will replace the 747 on the routes we currently deploy it on?

We intend to replace the flying with other widebody aircraft. Our forward-looking fleet plan will cover 747 replacements and anticipated growth opportunities.

Can you update us on the plan for 747 flying, as well as other long-haul international widebodies, for 2017? What’s going to happen in 2018?

Our Network Planning and Operations teams, working in close collaboration with our operating departments, are still developing those plans and we will share updates when available.

Will this result in base closures for pilots and flight attendants?

Our current base structure will remain the same; however, pilots who currently operate the 747s out of our SFO base will transition to other fleets. For flight attendants, there are no plans to surplus from stations we currently operate the 747 from. We will make these transitions as smooth and seamless as possible, in accordance with the CBA, for our people.

What impact will this retirement have on the San Francisco Maintenance Center and our San Francisco Line Maintenance operation?

This will have no effect on staffing at the SFO Maintenance Center. Our Line Maintenance team will continue to work on the widebody aircraft that replace the 747s.

When and how will we be celebrating our 747’s retirement?

You can be sure that we will be honoring this iconic aircraft’s retirement with a celebration worthy of its legacy. While the final flight will not be until the fourth quarter of this year, we have already started planning for an appropriate sendoff. We’ll be sure to share more about our plans in the weeks ahead.

What's going to happen with military charters?

United remains committed to our American troops and to working with our U.S. Government partners to facilitate their moves around the country and the world.

Where will the retired aircraft go?

We have a combination of owned and leased 747-400s. The leased aircraft will be returned to their leasing companies at the end of the leases. Once the United-owned aircraft are retired from service, the aircraft will be placed into storage, where they will either be sold or parted out.

=

SonaSounds wrote:

With nearly all of SFO's B744 routes turning to 77W this summer, there will only be a few European and Chinese routes left with the B744.....so sad

I'm only aware of SFO-HKG switching at this point. Do you know of more 77W routes out of SFO that haven't been announced yet? I definitely think it makes sense to retire the 744s as the 77Ws come online, and doing a direct replacement at SFO seems better than having the 77Ws go to EWR and cascading 772s to SFO.

That said, I will miss watching 744s take off. I got to see one depart off 1R while spotting at Bayfront Park last spring, and the roar was incredible!

jetblastdubai wrote:

How much slack is built into the current 744 fleet? I know at least 1 unit is a dedicated charter frame and that leaves 20 remaining 744s on property. Does UA keep a few back-up planes in SFO for contigency purposes and if so, how many? 14 77Ws and 3 789s scheduled to arrive this year won't fill the vacuum left by 21 744s especially if additional 772s flying Int'l are being converted to domestic birds.

Could there be another source of new/used planes to backfill the fleet?

There is plenty of slack with the current 747 fleet. The remaining 12 77Ws and four 787-9s to be received this year can cover the 747 retirement, assuming all those aircraft will head to SFO. There is only one 77A left to be converted to the high density domestic configuration. There is excess transatlantic capacity where United has needed to cut back. Wouldn't affect the 747 retirement. With this announcement, I'd be surprised if there isn't another top off order for 77Ws.

jetblastdubai wrote:

How much slack is built into the current 744 fleet? I know at least 1 unit is a dedicated charter frame and that leaves 20 remaining 744s on property. Does UA keep a few back-up planes in SFO for contigency purposes and if so, how many? 14 77Ws and 3 789s scheduled to arrive this year won't fill the vacuum left by 21 744s especially if additional 772s flying Int'l are being converted to domestic birds.

Could there be another source of new/used planes to backfill the fleet?

UA does not come close to using 21 744's. All 744's have been pulled from regular service at ORD which leaves only SFO, with the current and future schedule UA only uses 10-14 frames on a daily basis. From SFO UA flies the 744 to HKG, NRT, PEK, FRA, TPE, and ICN, you can add LHR to the list for the summer and one of the 2 daily SFO-PVG routes is scheduled to resume 744 service in the spring. If all these routes go 77W there are your 14 frames.


For all the problems UA has had in recent memory with this particular fleet it will be strange when the day comes that the Queen of the Skies no longer flies for United Airlines. Reading the responses from employees and just talking to my coworkers a lot of us wanted to see the 747-8 join UA's fleet it just wasn't meant to be. Although I completely understand the economics of 2 engine aircraft v.s. 4 engine aircraft it is still no less shocking to realize that come 2018 no US flagged passenger service airline will be flying any version of the iconic 747.

I have some "inside" information... N105UA and N116UA are supposed to fly to the dessert from ORD some time this or next week. I'm not sure if they will be scrapped or just stored. N105UA has 10308 cycles and N116UA 8032 cycles.

FSDan wrote:

SonaSounds wrote:

With nearly all of SFO's B744 routes turning to 77W this summer, there will only be a few European and Chinese routes left with the B744.....so sad

I'm only aware of SFO-HKG switching at this point. Do you know of more 77W routes out of SFO that haven't been announced yet?!

Late spring TPE, one FRA, ICN, HKG, and NRT will all be up first, but with acceleration of their B744 retirement, I'm sure we'll see most of them switch over this summer.

jayunited wrote:

UA only uses 10-14 frames on a daily basis.

Thanks for that info.

Looks like there is a United 747-400 inbound to ORD right now. It is not a regularly scheduled flight but might really be the last -400 at ORD. Its N116UA so based on the info above will certainly be the last ORD flight for that frame.

https://www.flightradar24.com/UAL2100/c237421

As a SFO based pax, I'll miss flying J in the upper deck, but that's it. The 744 pax experience is a disaster:

Coffin class J on the main deck

No PTV in Y (how this exists in 2017 is unbelievable)

Terrible dispatch reliability

Good riddance, bring on the 77W and the new J product

LAXintl wrote:

has the lowest customer satisfaction scores in our fleet

Ooh, clearly not a lot a.netters are flying the 747

KarelXWB wrote:

LAXintl wrote:

has the lowest customer satisfaction scores in our fleet

Ooh, clearly not a lot a.netters are flying the 747

Just another indication that the majority of people flying commercial today, do not care what type of plane it is (ie. nostalgia for older aircraft), do not know what type of plane it is (ie. 747 vs 777), and do not go out of their way to fly a certain type of aircraft. Most want to get from point A to point B in the littlest amount of time possible, for as the littlest amount of $$$ possible...with movies to watch, food to eat, booze to drink and a decent seat that will give them some comfort and rest.

dopplerd wrote:

Looks like there is a United 747-400 inbound to ORD right now. It is not a regularly scheduled flight but might really be the last -400 at ORD. Its N116UA so based on the info above will certainly be the last ORD flight for that frame.

https://www.flightradar24.com/UAL2100/c237421

It is an extra section for cancelled NRT flight that was scheduled to operate on 777 (ORD-NRT-ORD). ORD had some maintenance issues on 777 fleet and decided to use 747 for this "rescue" mission.

blacksoviet wrote:

Will these aircraft be sold to a Hajj operator?

They would need to certify the fuel tank modifications first.

That's going to be a costly second-hand airplane.

I'm afraid these 747s will end up elsewhere.

xjetflyer2001 wrote:

I wonder what the new timeline for retirement is now? So sad, it is pretty medieval on amenities and entertainment, but still love to fly her, I go out of my way to catch 747's when I go back and forth to Thailand, going in March and on my return will be going through TPE specifically to try and get 1st class on the UA747, been in business on the upper deck, but never 1st class in the nose, hoping to get either seats 4A or 4K, then my life in the 747 will be complete

F in the nose on UA is overrated. If you really want to experience the nose in a 747, at least sit in 1A/K so you get to experience the curvature and be able to kinda look out forward from the windows. If you're already flying through TPE, book a cheap J ticket on CI to get your 747 nose experience.

Such a good looking bird. Will be crazy not seeing those @ SFO. The end of a long Era of UA 747s.

My only flight on a UA 744 was in J upper deck to FRA, that happened to be on the unfortunate day of the Asiana crash. Was rebooked in the back of the bus on the LH A380 the next day (still a great flight).

With the quick availability of their 77Ws, economically it makes sense. SFO is a real strong hold for UA.

dopplerd wrote:

Looks like there is a United 747-400 inbound to ORD right now. It is not a regularly scheduled flight but might really be the last -400 at ORD. Its N116UA so based on the info above will certainly be the last ORD flight for that frame.

https://www.flightradar24.com/UAL2100/c237421

Over Minnesota now. With the retirement months away, I can't imagine ORD won't see another UA 747. But just in case, I will be tracking it. Unfortunately the clouds are really low so I wont be seeing it

But I can hear a KLM 744 overhead right now so at least I might be able to hear it...

United787 wrote:

Over Minnesota now. With the retirement months away, I can't imagine ORD won't see another UA 747. But just in case, I will be tracking it. Unfortunately the clouds are really low so I wont be seeing it

But I can hear a KLM 744 overhead right now so at least I might be able to hear it...

Yeah this will likely be the last arrival to ORD from the Far East. Hard to believe this is the end. I'd be able to see it and take a picture if it wasn't mostly cloudy. Bummer.

At times like these, we need KOYAANISQATSI !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quv2U1_hHRQ