United Airlines is picking up the pace in the retirement of its Boeing 747 fleet.
United Airlines plans to fly its last Boeing 747 late this year, retiring its largest airplanes a year ahead of schedule as the iconic aircraft glides into the sunset.
The decision marks the end of an era for U.S. airlines, which have relied on the humpbacked 747 to bring jet travel to a mass consumer market since the plane made its debut in 1970. United flew its first jumbo between California and Hawaii that year.
It’s also a reminder of the tough task Boeing faces as it tries to keep its newest 747 model, the -8, aloft amid waning demand for fourengine aircraft. The Chicago-based company has just 28 unfilled orders, after closing 17 sales of the freighter version of the jet last year. Boeing has said it would end production if more orders don’t materialize.
“It’s a bittersweet milestone — this jumbo jet with its unmistakable silhouette once represented the state of the art in air travel,” United’s president, Scott Kirby, said Wednesday in a letter to employees.
The Chicago-based carrier is the largest U.S. operator of the passenger 747400 variant, with 20 of the aircraft in its fleet. Delta Air Lines is also parking its jumbo jets this year. Cathay Pacific Airways, ANA Holdings, Singapore Airlines and Air France are among carriers that have retired their 747-400 jetliners this decade amid a shift from four-engine aircraft to twin-engine planes, which are more fuel efficient, cheaper to maintain and capable of hauling nearly as many people over vast distances.
United spokesman Luke Punzenberger wouldn’t say which wide-body aircraft would replace the 747400s, which have served as United’s workhorses on trans-Pacific routes for two decades. United has taken delivery of the first of 14 Boeing 777-300ERs it has ordered for long-range flying.
The airline also has ordered 35 Airbus A3501000s but is weighing converting those twin-aisle jets to the smaller -900 variant or the midsized A330.