Flying on a Boeing 747
Discussion
I've been flying BA 747s for a good many years, and always like to travel upstairs. Even if you book months ahead it is often very difficult to find a seat upstairs.
Being a suspicious type, I reckon that BA somehow reserves the bubble for the Great and the Good, rather than uppity old peasants like myself.
So - advice- don't expect to get an upstairs seat if you book very late.
Being a suspicious type, I reckon that BA somehow reserves the bubble for the Great and the Good, rather than uppity old peasants like myself.
So - advice- don't expect to get an upstairs seat if you book very late.
Flightradar24 is a good source of which airline has 747s in the fleet and which routes they are used on. You can see the flight history by aircraft. I have been luck to make several flights in 747s, all to and within the far east. I had 8 seats to myself coming back from Thailand so I stretched out and slept the whole way back. It's a great aircraft and I will be sorry to see it go.
AAGR said:
Oh, and changing the subject - what is (a) the oldest and (b) the newest 747 in BA's fleet ?
G-BNLY Delivered Feb 1993, 27 Years oldG-BYGG Delivered Apr 1999, 20 Years old
For reference, their oldest 777 was delivered in 1996, due to retire this year.
Edited by smack on Sunday 16th February 13:47
El stovey said:
It certainly always used to be a B777, BA direct from Heathrow to Denver, not sure when it changed to a 747.
Flyertalk has the 747 going back quite a while with an explanation being cargo capacity on the 747?I was wondering whether it was to try and steal back some business from Norwegian as they fly direct from Gatwick 3 times per week.
AAGR said:
I've been flying BA 747s for a good many years, and always like to travel upstairs. Even if you book months ahead it is often very difficult to find a seat upstairs.
Being a suspicious type, I reckon that BA somehow reserves the bubble for the Great and the Good, rather than uppity old peasants like myself.
So - advice- don't expect to get an upstairs seat if you book very late.
It will depend on the route. Upper deck on BA is bookable but carries a large booking fee. Gold & silver card holders get there for free. I used to fly on 747s out of Kuwait every 4-6 weeks, booking a few weeks out & 9 times out of 10 was in best seats up there.....62a or kBeing a suspicious type, I reckon that BA somehow reserves the bubble for the Great and the Good, rather than uppity old peasants like myself.
So - advice- don't expect to get an upstairs seat if you book very late.
Did anyone witness this kind of 70s top deck glamour?
The first 747 I went on was BA in ‘77. I think by then it was all seats maybe a little bar on some? I remember going upstairs to the flight deck with my junior jet club book (to get it signed) during the flight and thinking it was first class or something cool up there.
Going to the Far East we had to stop twice from the U.K. they still had smoking sections at the back of the plane.
As I kid I had loads of visits to the 747 flightdeck, when I was in my teens, I used to ask the hosties as soon as I got on to try and blag a jumpseat for takeoff and then when I was up there hopefully get a landing.
I remember the flight engineers making jokes about the pilots. The flight engineer seemed to adjust the thrust levers on take off and do stuff with fuel balancing too I think.
The first 747 I went on was BA in ‘77. I think by then it was all seats maybe a little bar on some? I remember going upstairs to the flight deck with my junior jet club book (to get it signed) during the flight and thinking it was first class or something cool up there.
Going to the Far East we had to stop twice from the U.K. they still had smoking sections at the back of the plane.
As I kid I had loads of visits to the 747 flightdeck, when I was in my teens, I used to ask the hosties as soon as I got on to try and blag a jumpseat for takeoff and then when I was up there hopefully get a landing.
I remember the flight engineers making jokes about the pilots. The flight engineer seemed to adjust the thrust levers on take off and do stuff with fuel balancing too I think.
I remember flying on Pan Am in the late 70's and going upstairs to eat in the Clipper Club. I t was like a dining room at a restaurant. Alas the era of glam flying has pretty well vanished, even flying First Class on Emirates with the shower and cabin isn't so awe inspiring as 747's and their interiors in the 70's. Am hoping my Miami LHR flight om late March is on a 747 as it won't be flying this route much longer.
GT03ROB said:
It will depend on the route. Upper deck on BA is bookable but carries a large booking fee. Gold & silver card holders get there for free. I used to fly on 747s out of Kuwait every 4-6 weeks, booking a few weeks out & 9 times out of 10 was in best seats up there.....62a or k
Kuwait has been T7s for the past couple of years. Much as I like the 747, the insides were very, very tired, seat back screens not much bigger than a modern-day mobile phone. To be fair, the T7s aren't much better compared to up-to-date equipment.I suppose after 1990, BA sees Kuwait as the equivalent of driving through Toxteth in a nice new SL500.
hutchst said:
GT03ROB said:
It will depend on the route. Upper deck on BA is bookable but carries a large booking fee. Gold & silver card holders get there for free. I used to fly on 747s out of Kuwait every 4-6 weeks, booking a few weeks out & 9 times out of 10 was in best seats up there.....62a or k
Kuwait has been T7s for the past couple of years. Much as I like the 747, the insides were very, very tired, seat back screens not much bigger than a modern-day mobile phone. To be fair, the T7s aren't much better compared to up-to-date equipment.I suppose after 1990, BA sees Kuwait as the equivalent of driving through Toxteth in a nice new SL500.
GT03ROB said:
I stopped going to Kuwait about 2 1/2 years back & I'm aware they have changed. They were hoping to use the A350 I believe
No, still T7s. I tend to give them a miss most of the time unless I need to go to London. I perfer to route through Schipol from Glasgow or Birmingham.smack said:
AAGR said:
Oh, and changing the subject - what is (a) the oldest and (b) the newest 747 in BA's fleet ?
G-BNLY Delivered Feb 1993, 27 Years oldG-BYGG Delivered Apr 1999, 20 Years old
For reference, their oldest 777 was delivered in 1996, due to retire this year.
Edited by smack on Sunday 16th February 13:47
alangla said:
A bit off topic, but they've sent at least one of the early 777s to the scrappy already
They originally had 5 of the first 777 models, the 200 version, ie. the G-ZZZx aircraft. They got shot of 2 in 2002, because of the drop in demand post 9/11, one of those has been broken up after going through the hands of a few airlines, another one was retired to be scrapped last month after 24 years of use, and a 200ER was scrapped after performing unplanned ground excavation work at LHR in 2008.smack said:
alangla said:
A bit off topic, but they've sent at least one of the early 777s to the scrappy already
They originally had 5 of the first 777 models, the 200 version, ie. the G-ZZZx aircraft. They got shot of 2 in 2002, because of the drop in demand post 9/11, one of those has been broken up after going through the hands of a few airlines, another one was retired to be scrapped last month after 24 years of use, and a 200ER was scrapped after performing unplanned ground excavation work at LHR in 2008.Assume the 2008 one you're talking about was G-YMMM - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flig...
I'm still surprised the one (G-VIIO) that was incinerated at Las Vegas was fixed, but I guess if GE were paying for the repairs.
stevensdrs said:
I have been luck to make several flights in 747s, all to and within the far east. I had 8 seats to myself coming back from Thailand so I stretched out and slept the whole way back.
The ex missus and I flew from Fiji to LAX on a barely half full overnight Air Pacific 747 back in 2002, and the two of us had pretty much all of the last 3 rows at the rear of the cabin to ourselves 
Dr Jekyll said:
How long are they planning to keep the 777s for?
Quick answer - they will fly 777's for probably 25+ years.Long answer - they have 3 different versions of 777 in the fleet at the moment with 4 more on order of this current generation.
The 200 version they have 2 left, all to go at the end of summer this year, the range of them limits them to East Coast of the US, and the Middle East routes.
The 200ER arrived in 2 batches, GE powered, delivered 1997-1999, and Rolls Royce powered delivered in 2000-2009, and BA have said they don't plan to replace these until 2025, and they have 43 of the 200ER's. They have been refitting some of the aircraft for 10 across in Economy (was 9 across), which are the Gatwick fleet at the moment, so they are not going anywhere.
Then they have 12 300ER's, with 4 more on order - cheap end of production run out models! The oldest arrived in 2010. They first were leased stopgap aircraft for the delayed 787's, but they decided they really liked them and fit into the fleet really well, so they ordered more.
And they have an order for 18 777-9 aircraft, plus options.
alangla said:
ZZZC was the one that went to St. Athan for scrap last month IIRC, does that mean there's still an ex-BA G-ZZZ one running or have both the ex-BA ones been scrapped?
Assume the 2008 one you're talking about was G-YMMM - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flig...
I'm still surprised the one (G-VIIO) that was incinerated at Las Vegas was fixed, but I guess if GE were paying for the repairs.
ZZD is owned or leased by the Gabon Government, and parked up at Basel Airport apparently.Assume the 2008 one you're talking about was G-YMMM - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flig...
I'm still surprised the one (G-VIIO) that was incinerated at Las Vegas was fixed, but I guess if GE were paying for the repairs.
Yes, I was talking about MMM. IIO was rebuilt by Boeing, and GE footed the bill as it was a faulty part that grenaded the engine.
smack said:
IIO was rebuilt by Boeing, and GE footed the bill as it was a faulty part that grenaded the engine.
https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20150908X35241&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=FAAlthough it’s a bit long, It was an interesting event for anyone interested in these things.
Just been a bit of an anorak, and looked up how many flights I've done on 747's as it's likely I'll not fly on one again, and it's 17 trips, which surprised me as being that many tbh.
First time was 1987, and the last time was 2008, and with 4 different airlines.
3 of the 17 were on the older -200 series, the rest were on -400's.
First flight on a -400 was in 1999, a Virgin 747, with the first officer being an ex-RAF Lightning pilot, Bob Bees, who had been the last but one pilot to have to eject from a Lightning in service...
First time was 1987, and the last time was 2008, and with 4 different airlines.
3 of the 17 were on the older -200 series, the rest were on -400's.
First flight on a -400 was in 1999, a Virgin 747, with the first officer being an ex-RAF Lightning pilot, Bob Bees, who had been the last but one pilot to have to eject from a Lightning in service...
aeropilot said:
Just been a bit of an anorak, and looked up how many flights I've done on 747's as it's likely I'll not fly on one again, and it's 17 trips, which surprised me as being that many tbh.
First time was 1987, and the last time was 2008, and with 4 different airlines.
3 of the 17 were on the older -200 series, the rest were on -400's.
First flight on a -400 was in 1999, a Virgin 747, with the first officer being an ex-RAF Lightning pilot, Bob Bees, who had been the last but one pilot to have to eject from a Lightning in service...
Being bit of a nerd like that I'm comfortably over a hundred. First flight in '79. Flown -200s, -400s & a combi.First time was 1987, and the last time was 2008, and with 4 different airlines.
3 of the 17 were on the older -200 series, the rest were on -400's.
First flight on a -400 was in 1999, a Virgin 747, with the first officer being an ex-RAF Lightning pilot, Bob Bees, who had been the last but one pilot to have to eject from a Lightning in service...
Airlines being BA, Braniff, United, Air India & Thai
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