Why Won't Lufthansa Retire the 747?

earlier this year the last 747 ever built rolled off the assembly line in Everett Washington this historic moment was punctuated by a grand ceremony that saw thousands of Boeing Employees in attendance speeches from Boeing's top brass and even a surprise visit from John Travolta but arguably the most interesting moment of the show came when carsten Spore Lanza's CEO took to the stage and said this we and LU tanza are currently looking into another upgrade of the 747-8 in all classes to fly this amazing airplane way into the next decade and it's something we are proud of that we will R presenting this airplane for many many more years now this unwavering commitment to the 747 might seem bizarre after all there's a reason that Boeing shut down production demand for the jet is non-existent and practically every every other airline has phased it out only LOF tanza the German flag carrier has expressed any desire to keep it around so what exactly does l tonsa see in the plane that others don't why won't they retire the 747 let me explain before hopping into it those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that I've done a lot of traveling recently in the last year I've visited air shows Airlines and airplane manufacturers which has not only been super cool but has also helped me elevate my content for all of you but at the same time it's also hurt my ability to maintain a healthy daily routine especially when it comes to my diet that's why I bring ag1 with me wherever I go ag1 is a science-driven formulation that supports whole body Health packed with 75 vitamins minerals and Whole Food sourced ingredients it's helped me establish and stick to a healthy routine even when I'm far far away from home ag1 promotes things like gut health immune Health focus and energy and while it's as green as can be I actually really like how it tastes now I'm sure that most of us could use help improving our nutrition whe whether you travel or not and ag1 wants to help you on your Wellness Journey right now if you use my link in the description your first order of ag1 will come with a free one-ear supply of vitamin D3 K2 in addition to five free travel packs so go check it out doing so really helps to support my work and it can also help to support your health first let's talk about the rise and fall of the Boeing 747 quad Jets like the 747 once dominated commercial Aviation offering a mix of range and safety that were simply unmatched and the 747 ruled them all at one point it was the world's best-selling widebody Jet and with its distinctive hump it also became the most recognizable earning the nickname the Queen of the Skies but as much as people adore the plane feelings don't dictate the airline industry dollars and cents do and unfortunately the 747 is no longer economical for most carriers modern wide bodies like the 7 and a350 can fly the exact same missions while using just two engines rather than four now having just two engines makes these planes lighter and more aerodynamic which drastically reduces fuel burn the upshot is that the 747 has become obsolete for passenger service it should come as no surprise that that carriers have been shedding them from their fleets of the more than 70 Airlines who have flown passenger 747s all but three of them have completely phased them out and of those three holdouts two have plans to retire it before the decade is out but not Lanza not only do they still fly the jet but they plan to keep doing so well into the 2030s now this decision might seem questionable at first after all l tons has come under Fire for holding on to old gas guzzling quad Jets all while Germany has tried to lead Europe's efforts on climate reform at the same time Germany is also very reliant on Russian oil and given recent events their fuel costs have been volatile if anything it seems that Luft tanza should be eager to ditch the jet but that's clearly not how they feel so the question is why well well it all boils down to this premium seating you see premium travel is absolutely critical for Airlines to turn a profit while business and first class cabins make up just a fraction of a plane seats they can generate up to 75% of an airline's revenue and the importance of these cabins is only growing according to Boeing's 2023 commercial Market Outlook Airlines across the board have been increasing the number of Premium seats they offer on board their aircraft over the past 5 years but while premium Flyers are important for all full service carriers they are doubly important for Lanza after all Germany is the economic heartbeat of Europe not only does it have the highest GDP of any EU Nation but it's also the biggest exporter now as the German flag carrier it's lans's duty to connect German industry to the rest of the world and as a result the demand man they see for business and first class travel is especially robust it's in this context that we can start to understand why Lanza covets the 747 simply put it offers more hboard real estate than practically any other commercial jet on the market and Lanza puts that space to good use while Boeing says the 747-8 can seat up to 467 people in a three-class layout lonza configures theirs with just 3 64 seats that way they can accommodate a whopping 88 business and first class passengers whose seats take up half of the plane's main deck and the entirety of the upper deck as a point of comparison Korean and Air China who are the other two active 747-8 operators only outfit theirs with 54 and 66 premium seats respectively ultimately this Ultra Premium configuration helps Lu tanza generate extra revenue and overcome the 747s high operating costs but the 747 isn't just a boon for Lanza's bottom line it's also a boon for the passenger experience simply put flying the 747 is one of the most unique experiences in the sky especially for premium Travelers and with their lines always jockeying over premium Travelers the 747 helps Lanza to stand out for instance first class seats like this one are located in the nose of the aircraft this means there's absolutely zero foot traffic going into or out of the cabin aside from the first class passengers themselves this leads to a greater sense of privacy and exclusivity it also means that these first class seats are far in front of the engines making this cabin exceedingly quiet and as a cherry on top first class Flyers actually sit in front of the pilots this doesn't really improve the onboard experience but it sure is cool and when you're paying tens of thousands of dollars for these tickets that cool factor is certainly appreciated business class aboard the 747 is also quite distinct the 747s upper deck which is reserved solely for business is very intimate up here it almost feels like you're aboard your own private jet with Ample Storage your own dedicated flight crew and limited foot traffic as well and just like in first class it's far far away from those engines so it's pretty quiet too even if you're stuck flying a business class down on the main deck you're still in for a treat since the 747 is wider than twin Jets like the 7 and the a350 it affords each passenger more space and those engine views aren't half bad either these unique characteristics combined with Lanza's refined service delicious meals and thoughtful amenities are really competitive differentiators and allow them to offer a truly special flying experience and that experience is about to get even better in the coming years lufton will start to retrofit these 747s with their new algis cabin product algas will bring about improvements in all classes but the effect will be felt most in business and first where passengers will see more space more privacy and more Comfort okay so now we better understand why by Lanza still loves the 747 it gives them more premium seats and it gives their premium Flyers a better onboard experience but surely they aren't the only ones who could benefit from this right historic 747 operators like British Airways cath Pacific and Singapore Airlines also rely heavily on premium travel to drive and sustain growth and yet they all disposed of their 747s years ago and haven't looked back so what are we missing here what makes Lu ton different from these other carriers well the final piece of the puzzle is maintenance you see the 747 doesn't just burn more fuel than other wide bodies it's also more expensive to maintain a plane's engines are by far the most costly components to repair and replace and since the 747 has twice as many engines as planes like the 7 and a350 it's no wonder that its maintenance costs can be much much higher so while the 747 can make airlines more money those gains are usually offset by those High repair costs but Lanza has an ace up its sleeve they own one of the biggest aviation maintenance companies on Earth known as Lanza Technic Technic provides maintenance services for not just Lanza but for dozens of Airlines across the globe and having this massive mro at their disposal has a couple of key benefits first off they've been repairing 747s for over 50 years this wealth of knowledge and expertise helps them to streamline and speed up repairs so that Luft tanza 747s are spending less time on the ground and more time up in the air making money second Technic size gives them tremendous bargaining power with suppliers and they can negotiate better prices for spare parts and buy them in bulk it's clear that if there is any Airline who can keep 747 repair cost down well it's Lanza ultimately Lanza's unique blend of business need and maintenance practices allows them to be the only Airline on Earth who can keep flying the 747 profitably and until another plane of this size comes around they probably won't look to replace them sure Lanza has purchased other modern jumbos like the A 351000 and tri 7X in an effort to modernize their Fleet and reduce their carbon footprint but for the time being those planes will support the 747 not outright replace it and it doesn't seem like that's going to change anytime soon now this was the very first time I had ever flown on a 747 and it was remarkable and I'm sure that tons of you have incredible 747 experiences of your own which I would love to hear about so make sure you leave a comment down below telling me your stories I'll send the person with the best story one of these sweet 747 sweatshirts that I actually designed myself I also want to give a big thanks to LOF tanza for supporting this video just for clarification they did not pay me to make it this is a video I've wanted to make for a very long time but they did CAU my ticket when they heard I was coming aboard which was very nice of them that being said I did still pay for my first class upgrade which was not cheap so I have to give a huge thanks to my patreon supporters for helping to make that happen if you want to help me make more videos like this in the future please consider checking out my patreon too now this first class experience was super duper unique and while I don't do flight reviews all that often this experience absolutely warrants one I'll be publishing that review in the coming weeks so make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss it thanks again for watching and until I see you again don't forget to look up

Channel: Coby Explanes

Views: 541,248

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Id: _4IQDXmCE1s

Length: 13min 38sec (818 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 20 2023