BA to retire their entire 737 fleets immediately

British Airways owned by International Airlines Group (IAG) grounds all of its Boeing 747s as it suffers from the sharp travel downturn.

The UK airline is the world’s largest operator of the jump jets with 31 in the fleet.

A  British Airways spokesman said, “It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire the entire 747 fleet with immediate effect and it is unlikely our magnificent queen of the skies will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic”.

It had earlier planned on retiring the planes in 2024 but has brought forward the date due to the downturn. There are about 500 747s still in service, of which 30 are actively flying passengers, and more than 300 fly cargo and the remainder are in storage.

A four-engine aircraft is far less efficient than modern twin-engine models, such as the Airbus A350, the 787 Dreamliner, or even the older Boeing 777 all of which are much cheaper to run.

Air France, Delta, and United had already retired their 747 fleets.

BA’s predecessor BOAC first started flying 747s in the early 1970s BA is currently flying the 747-400 version of the long-range aircraft.

BA is currently the world’s biggest operator of 747-400s and first took delivery of them in July 1989, with the upper deck containing a lounge which was known as the “club in the Sky”, and operated its first flight from London to New York in 1971. The wings of a 747-400 span 213ft and are big enough to accommodate 50 parked cars.

US-based Boeing signalled the end of the plane’s production a year ago.

Hundreds of ground staff face redundancy as the airline slashes costs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many scrapped aircraft are salvaged or scrapped and some stripped out as they have valuable interior and some entrepreneurs convert them into hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions.