A funny thing happened to an older generation of Boeing 47 jumbo jets on their way to dusty oblivion in desert parking lots.
Instead of being scrapped, the humpbacked planes are back in demand as workhorses of global shipping. Booming trade is stoking the need for big, long-range jets to haul time-sensitive goods, from Apple iPhones made in China to fresh flowers grown in Latin America.
Interest in Boeing’s 747-400 freighter family was already rebounding last year, even as Delta Air Lines and United Continental hosted nostalgic farewell tours to mark the end of US passenger service on the four-engine behemoth nicknamed the “Queen of the Skies.” With Boeing’s factory-fresh models sold out through 2021, cargo carriers are snapping up jumbo freighters that were built from 1993 to 2009 - if they can find them.
“It’s tightened up, that’s for sure,” said William Flynn, chief executive of Atlas Air Worldwide, the world’s largest operator of jumbo freighters. The lessor is in the process of adding six 747-400 freighters to its fleet. “There’s just a finite number of aircraft,” he said.
Demand is strongest for used 747s originally built as freighters, since they have hinged noses that flip open to load oversize cargo such as oil-drilling equipment. Lease rates have rebounded for the aircraft, while the number of stored models has shrunk to the point where almost every airworthy plane is spoken for, according to George Dimitroff, head of valuations for Flight Ascend Consultancy.
The resurgence is even starting to extend to cargo-haulers converted from passenger jumbos, which are heavier and can load only via doors carved into the side. Once written off as dead, the converted 747 freighters have shown new life over the last nine months, Mr Dimitroff said. While it’s not quite a comeback, lease rates have climbed for older models.
One sign of the renewed interest: “We’re seeing aircraft get D-checks that were in storage for a long time that we thought were going to be parted-out,” he said, using an industry term for heavy maintenance. The cost, typically more than $3 million (Dh11m) a plane, is an indication they’ll fly again, instead of being chopped up.
To be sure, the revival involves a small subset of the 1,544 jumbos that have flown away from Boeing’s Seattle-area factory since the four-engine 747 debuted in 1970. There’s no sign of a similar resurgence for brand-new passenger versions of the 747-8, or Airbus’ A380 superjumbo.
A global trade war could snuff interest in the older freighters. So would a big increase in oil prices.
“If we get to $90 a barrel, it’s going to start getting really ugly for the four-engine aircraft again,” said Brian Postel, vice president for aircraft acquisition at Unical Aviation, a California-based supplier of aircraft parts and maintenance. A US benchmark exceeded $70 a barrel this month for the first time since 2014.
Still, the recent trend reverses the steady stream of 747s that had headed to boneyards this decade. Airlines switched long-range flying to more economical twin-engine models, and Boeing last year dropped the 747 from its long-term forecast for passenger planes. Package carriers parked early-build freighters amid whipsawing fuel prices and a prolonged air-cargo slump.
The total number of permanently retired or scrapped Boeing jumbos more than doubled, from 442 in 2010 to 890 this year, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis of Flight Ascend data.
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“Storage is your slow march to death,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson said of the desert lots where old aircraft go to be raided for parts.
But starting in mid-2016, air shipments started to rebound slowly, and then in monthly leaps. United Parcel Service negotiated a freighter order that will keep Boeing’s 747-8 assembly line open into the next decade. Atlas Air started lining up 747-400 freighters for customers such as DHL Worldwide Express.
The older models cost a small fraction of Boeing’s $403.6m list price for a 747-8 freighter. In fact, Chinese package carrier SF Airlines bought two of the youngest 400s for $50m last year online via Taobao, China’s biggest e-commerce platform.
“That pays for a lot of fuel,” Mr Postel said.
While air-freight growth slowed in March, demand is still forecast to increase from 4 per cent to 5 per cent this year, according to the International Air Transport Association. That bodes well for all-new Boeing freighters, as well as for the used models.
Atlas Air, which has 10 of the plane maker’s latest cargo version in its fleet, “would like to acquire a few more 747-8,” Mr Flynn said. “We haven’t said when or how many, but it’s a great asset.”
The cargo comeback has enabled Boeing Capital, the manufacturer’s financing arm, to shrink the amount of financing it had provided to help support 747-8 sales during the slump. As of the first quarter, the exposure had shrunk to $481m, from $1.07 billion a year earlier, according to a federal filing.
“The return of the cargo market has been a factor, along with BCC’s expertise in placing wide-body airplanes,” said Joanna Pickup, a Boeing spokeswoman.
There’s little chance the resurgence will extend the lives of those final Delta and United passenger 747-400 planes parked over the last year. Boeing no longer retrofits the planes to haul packages instead of people, makeovers that used to cost as much as $30m.
One or two of the jumbos may wind up with a boutique lessor. The rest, more than likely, will be carved up into scrap metal and spare parts to help keep the freighters flying a decade or more, said Postel. His company purchased 77 aircraft to be parted-out over the past two years, including a half dozen 400s.
“The passenger ones will be gone,” he said of Boeing’s best-selling jumbo variant.
“The freighters have a chance.”
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Teaching in coronavirus times
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
If you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Chicago from Dh5,215 return including taxes.
The hotels
Recommended hotels include the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, located in an iconic skyscraper complete with a 1929 Olympic-size swimming pool from US$299 (Dh1,100) per night including taxes, and the Omni Chicago Hotel, an excellent value downtown address with elegant art deco furnishings and an excellent in-house restaurant. Rooms from US$239 (Dh877) per night including taxes.
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
McIlroy's recent struggles
Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)
The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)
The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)
US Open Missed the cut (78)
Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)
Irish Open Missed the cut (72)
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
