FedEx (and other cargo carriers) use standard palletized cargo containers that easily load through an enlarged side door.
The 747 nose is handy for outsized roll-on/roll-off cargo that is less common in the air freight business.
Posted on 02/24/2019 4:07:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv
It's an outcome that rival Boeing anticipated about 25 years ago when it outplayed Airbus with a brilliant bit of judo strategy (using Airbus's strength against itself), according to my 2008 book, You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing... As the Journal reported, in 2000, Airbus bet over $10 billion on the 555-seat A380 because it wanted to replace Boeing's 50 year old 747 jumbo jet. The A380 went over budget due to development delays and while passengers liked the plane, airlines preferred Boeing's 787 Dreamliner or Airbus's A350... This A380 denouement was envisioned by Boeing's former CEO, James McNerney... he saw that mid-sized planes in the point-to-point airline segment -- pioneered by airlines like Southwest -- would be more profitable than the long-range, hub-segment which flew passengers to big airports and let them sit for hours waiting for their connecting flights...
Boeing was considering whether to develop a "growth version" of the 747... to 500 seats from 420 seats... Boeing proposed to Airbus that the two companies conduct a joint study to assess the market potential for a replacement version of the 747. Why Airbus agreed to this joint study is not clear... In any event, at the end of the joint study, Boeing concluded that the super jumbo market would be far smaller than Airbus did. According to John Walsh, of Walsh Aviation, an aerospace consulting firm, Boeing estimated that demand for super jumbo aircraft would amount to 250 units while Airbus thought the market would total 1,000. At McNerney's urging, Boeing remained focused on market for intermediate-sized jets, which proved to be the better bet... Boeing believed that Airbus's internal conflicts would slow down its response to Boeing's success with the 787 in the mid-range market.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
The 787 Dreamliner can fly all the way from China to Memphis, non-stop. Large capacity, better fuel economy. I used to be able to quote a bunch of statistics, but in general, FedEx decided the overall range, cost, capacity, and operations were much better than Airbus. 747’s are old and being phased out. Actually more difficult to load.
Unless I’m mistaken, FedEx never bought the hinged-nose version. So - the ones FedEx used were actually not that easy to load.
FedEx (and other cargo carriers) use standard palletized cargo containers that easily load through an enlarged side door.
The 747 nose is handy for outsized roll-on/roll-off cargo that is less common in the air freight business.
[right up (until) the Tribulation/Great Tribulation is underway]
Thank you for mentioning that. Seeing all the stuff we’ve seen these last couple of weeks is pretty wild.
I think I’ll be reading my Time magazine!
Maybe I’ll go to the park.
It’s supposed to be a beautiful day!!
Everybody knows you can’t judge a book by cover of darkness.
Now don’t bother me. I’m reading “Atlas Mugged” by the Ayn Rand Corporation.
That’s how I haul my Jeeps, too.
The hard part is keeping the pilots from falling out. They don’t bounce too good.
For fun, I always say, “Hey why don’t you guys head up to the nose? ... I think I dropped some $100 bills”.
Then the fun begins.
Life is definitely better when you can regulate your fudge distribution.
[the history of shoehorning things where they did not belong?]
Hey now, no hijacking of the thread talking about the Obama pResidency.
Besides, hijacking an airliner thread is just wrong. I oughta know. I’ve now done it several times.
And turn that movie off! Who wants to see “Sack Lunch” anyways?
{[the history of shoehorning things where they did not belong?]
Hey now, no hijacking of the thread talking about the Obama pResidency.
Besides, hijacking an airliner thread is just wrong. I oughta know. I’ve now done it several times.
And turn that movie off! Who wants to see “Sack Lunch” anyways?}
It still exists today.
When I was young, air travel was exciting and even glamorous. People dressed their best, or at least, dressed "up" during travel.
You were not treated like a criminal during a laborious, impersonal, and intrusive process. You were not herded like cattle. You were fed, given drinks, and were treated in a friendly manner.
I flew this week, and the process only gets worse, never better.
Exactly.
The first time I saw a video story about the A380 I knew it was the wrong tact. If Boeing had been able to execute on the Dreamliner sooner the A380 would have died sooner.
Interesting article - thanks!
But don’t you want to see how they got in there?
My pleasure. The main issue with Airbus is, it's a gubmint bureau, run by a multinational non-gubmint regime.
LOL
Boeing and Lockheed had already done their studies for a C-5-sized aircraft and knew what the right answer was. They feigned interest, got Airbus all jacked up for a super-jumbo showdown, and then said, “Uh no, we’re going with the 787. The market is all yours to expand into, have fun!”
I live near an Air Force base, so I’m used to seeing fighter jets, KC-135s, and C-130s. Seeing a 747 coming in was awesome. It was purple and white and had “Polar Air Cargo” painted on the side.
I did it four times: to/from Taipei and to/from Seoul. Can’t say I liked it much. I’m glad I don’t smoke. I just had to tell myself, “This journey used to take weeks on a ship.” Glad I had a good book.
After one meets Hubris, one will inevitably meet Nemesis. :^)
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