Qantas to retire Boeing 747 fleet by end of 2020

Another airline will soon clip the wings of its fleet of Boeing 747, sending the jumbo jet into retirement on an earlier-than-expected retirement.

Australia’s largest airline, Qantas, announced plans to retire its fleet of 747s by the end of 2020, replacing it with six 787-9 aircraft, which will increase the number of Dreamliners in its fleet to 14.

“This really is the end of one era and the start of another. The jumbo has been the backbone of Qantas International for more than 40 years and we’ve flown almost every type that Boeing built. It’s fitting that its retirement is going to coincide with our centenary in 2020,” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement.

The airline said the newer wide-body jets are more fuel efficient and can travel further than the 747, though they carry fewer passengers – 236 versus 364. While the focus will now be toward business and premium economy seating, the Dreamliners will feature the same configuration as the existing aircraft. Australia’s flag carrier has flown the 747 for nearly half a century, beginning in 1971.

“Over the years, each new version of the 747 allowed Qantas to fly further and improve what we offered passengers. The Dreamliners are now doing the same thing,” Joyce said.

Qantas currently operates the world’s longest Dreamliner flight, its London to Perth, Australia, route, known as the “Kangaroo Route.” A 17-hour flight, the airline completed its inaugural run in late March.

The airline, however, isn’t the only major air carrier retiring its fleet of 747s. U.S. airlines United and Delta retired theirs at the end of last year, both commemorating the historic success of the “queen of the skies” with their own celebrations on the date of the final flights.

While demand for passenger versions of Boeing’s jumbo jet have fallen in favor of the Dreamliner and its other long-haul twin-jet, the 777, the Chicago-based plane maker still has 24 orders in the pipeline for cargo versions of the 747.