Multi-plane Boeing 747 order from UPS may be jumbo jet’s last hurrah

US cargo carrier gives the original double-deck jetliner a new lease of life as Boeing's world-famous mass-transit aircraft nears the end of its production cycle.

A UPS Boeing 747-8 Freighter. The courier has ordered 14 more of the famous jumbo jet. Courtesy UPS

The Boeing 747 revolutionised air travel and ushered in the era of jumbo jets back in the 1970s, but these days it is often used to carry packages, not people, and its future is uncertain.

The hump-backed behemoth has got a boost, however, after UPS announced it has ordered 14 Boeing 747-8 cargo freighters and took an option for another 14.

It is the biggest order for the jumbo jet since Lufthansa ordered 20 back in December 2006.

Neither Boeing nor UPS disclosed terms of the sale. At list price, 14 747 freighters would cost US$5.3 billion, although big customers routinely get discounts on planes.

Boeing has delivered more than 1,500 747s since the first one went to Pan Am in 1970 but the number of 747s rolling off the assembly line has slowed to a crawl in recent years. It is not just the 747; orders for a much newer four-engine superjumbo plane, the Airbus A380, have also stalled.

As the remaining 747s get older, airlines are retiring more of them. United Airlines recently announced that it would mothball its fleet of 747s by the end of 2018.

Before the UPS announcement, Boeing had received only four new orders for the 747 this year – and one cancellation. The 747 accounted for less than 2 per cent of commercial planes that Boeing has delivered since the start of 2015. As of September 30, there were only 15 unfilled 747 orders out of a total Boeing backlog of 5,600 planes, mostly 737s.

For UPS, the planes will help it to haul a growing load of air freight around the globe. UPS expects to take delivery of the first two in late 2017 and put them on international routes.

Painting the firm’s new order of world’s longest aircraft will be no mean feat. Aside from the cost, which can be anything from US$100,000 to $200,000 per plane, the weight of the dried paint alone on a 747 is a about 250kg, according to Boeing’s airframe design division.

UPS said it will shift older 747 models to shorter US routes, where their poor fuel mileage will be less of a factor.

Boeing said the 747-8 has 16 per cent more room for cargo than the 747-400 freighter and creates 30 per cent less noise around airports. It is the fourth generation of the venerable plane.

Even if the 747 is nearing the end of the line, it has had a remarkable history.

Its distinctive shape made the double-decker among the most famous planes ever. It has carried millions of passengers around the globe and its size and financial benefits helped to make international air travel possible for the masses.

* AP

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter