ronnie75

Not sure what "gaming it" means. What is the point of long call. Seriously.

JABDIP

Rumor was that RA did not like the 744. However, they have discovered the revenue capability of the aircraft in its ability to carry large amounts of cargo that no other aircraft on the property can. Also, the military loves it because it carries a full load of troops and all their equipment which does not happen with other airframes. Supposedly, it is now flying the 2 most profitable routes in the system and possibly more of the top 10 due to cargo and slot restricted airports. I can not tell you how many 403s(full pax) I have seen with 30-50 thousand of cargo to boot on a certain route this summer not to mention the VP of cargo wants to send it to alot of other cargo backed up city pairs. The rumor tends to come and go about us getting more of them. The latest last month at NATCO was they were looking for more airframes if the deal was right. I'll believe it when I see the metal on the ramp. As far as a preferred aircraft in ASIA that is on the money. It has been viewed as the standard amoung the Aisian countries. My guess is that it will be around another 5-10 years with the mods they are planning.

80ktsClamp

Yep. And in all irony while at NWA (note this was around 10 years ago) Anderson was quoted as saying that he would never ever buy another 4-engine airplane.

Free Bird

I think the 747 rumor is overblown. Oil may not be artificially high, but it's not low either.

For Delta to take on any number of additional 747's they would have to come very, very cheap. If oil were to rise and the economy recess, 747's are not the airplanes Delta wants flying around with low load factors.

Really hope Im wrong, additional Heavies would be great news.

acl65pilot

The 748i is 20% more efficient to operate than the 744.

The 744 is the second only to the 753 in CASM here at DAL.

acl65pilot

Simple. There are pilots that "know" they cannot make a 12 hr call out at certain times of the day. Heck you cannot sit in ATL and make a 12 hr call out in JFK, EWR, or LGA if they call at 2000 for a 0800 report.

We have also had pilots sitting SC and have expected not go get called, only to get that call and then not be able to make it. Some have even gotten their call and then told the scheduler they were getting on a three hr flight to the hub from their home.

acl65pilot

I totally agree.

DAL is making a ton of money on cargo with this bird.

I assume the question of whether we get the 748i or more 744's is really up to Skyteam and their decision to have us fly more point to point and the other to let the international carriers fly the big metal on hub to hub, or to let us have some of the hub to hub too.

The rumored price of the JAL 744 pax birds is right around 250K per month. If anyone know a/c leases, they will realize that if there is any truth to that price, it is really too good of a deal to pass up.

DAL330drvr

I heard that during bankruptcy, NWA re-negotiated the lease payments on the 744's down to 450k per month, so, 250k is a steal! We need a high capacity aircraft at DAL to compete with the increasing amount of A380's across the Atlantic and Pacific.

johnso29

Yes, & before BK the 744 lease payments were $1 mil a month so $250K is super, super cheap. The 744 has value that a lot think is not there just because it has 4 engines. It will make $$$ on routes that the 777 does NOT, & the 777 will make $$$ on routes that the 744 does not. Lots of things come into to play like cargo capacity, ETOPS certifications that aren't that easy(just put the 744 on it), etc.

With the way DAL is buying used aircraft, & with the reconfig they are doing to the 744 I think more 744's are very possible.

DAL4EVER

If I remember right, 250k is what we were paying pre-BK on the 757s. They eventually got those way below that. 250k for a 744 would be incredible, especially if they want to see if the markets will be there for the next 5+ years.