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Once written off as dead, 747s come back as freighters
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/05/25 09:22:45
BOOMING trade is stoking the need for big, long-range jets to haul time-sensitive goods, from Apple iPhones made in China to fresh flowers grown in Latin America, reports Bloomberg.
Delta and United held tearful farewells mark the end of the famous 747s, just when cargo carriers were snapping them up if they could find any.
"It's tightened up, that's for sure," said Atlas Air Worldwide CEO William Flynn, who runs the biggest operator of jumbo jets.
Lease rates have rebounded for the aircraft, while the number of stored models has shrunk to the point where almost every airworthy plane is spoken for, according to George Dimitroff, head of valuations for Flight Ascend Consultancy.
The revival involves a small subset of the 1,544 jumbos that have flown away from Boeing's Seattle-area factory since the four-engine 747 debuted in 1970. There's no sign of a similar resurgence for brand-new passenger versions of the 747-8, or Airbus A380 superjumbo.
Rising oil prices may yet stymie hopes for a long-lived rival.
"If we get to US$90 a barrel, it's going to start getting ugly for four-engine aircraft," said Brian Postel, vice president of Unical Aviation, a San Bernardino supplier of aircraft parts.
Delta and United held tearful farewells mark the end of the famous 747s, just when cargo carriers were snapping them up if they could find any.
"It's tightened up, that's for sure," said Atlas Air Worldwide CEO William Flynn, who runs the biggest operator of jumbo jets.
Lease rates have rebounded for the aircraft, while the number of stored models has shrunk to the point where almost every airworthy plane is spoken for, according to George Dimitroff, head of valuations for Flight Ascend Consultancy.
The revival involves a small subset of the 1,544 jumbos that have flown away from Boeing's Seattle-area factory since the four-engine 747 debuted in 1970. There's no sign of a similar resurgence for brand-new passenger versions of the 747-8, or Airbus A380 superjumbo.
Rising oil prices may yet stymie hopes for a long-lived rival.
"If we get to US$90 a barrel, it's going to start getting ugly for four-engine aircraft," said Brian Postel, vice president of Unical Aviation, a San Bernardino supplier of aircraft parts.