SQ B747-400 withdrawal thread

[Nick C]

Better still, cut back on the maintenance!

I really wonder what kind of grass you smoke.

[boing]

Better still, cut back on the maintenance!

I think he made that comment tongue in cheek. Many airlines have learned the hard way of actually following that advice.

you talking about SIA cargo, who cares about the appearance?

That's quite true. There was a time when SQCargo flew a hybrid SQ cargo a/c with Great Wall Airlines livery painted on its fuselage and Singapore Airlines Cargo and the Bird logo on its fin. I actually thought it was SQ Cargo's new livery. And JAL Cargo and Northwest Cargo, when it ran its cargo operations, actually fly bare metal a/c with minimal paintwork to save on cost. But a clean a/c is actually cheaper to fly than a dirty a/c. A/c cleaning is not only for a clean visual appearance.

top it off the livery is that of the old SQ and not the new enlarged characters.

I do remember seeing a SQ Cargo a/c with the new enlarged titles.

[sutrakhk]

you talking about SIA cargo, who cares about the appearance?

er......You can say that......but in my opinion, as SIA Cargo carry same colour scheem as Passenger flights, it is not good to give the general public a bad image when they don't realize it is a cargo flight when they see the plane.

I think the cost of building a brand image is much higher than repaint the planes.

[bmchris]

I think the cost of building a brand image is much higher than repaint the planes.

How much do they lose from not having a painted plane?

How much does it cost to paint a plane, lost time flying, cost of flying paint? Compare the two - which is cheaper? I'm sure someone at SIA crunched the numbers.

Remember, they are also competing with non pax flying cargo carriers who don't spend a dime on appearances. Plus other cargo folks like NWA and CX don't paint their freighters - bare aluminium baby.

In cargo, cost and performance are paramount. Looks rate really low.

[wsssaero]

I do remember seeing a SQ Cargo a/c with the new enlarged titles.

Three SIA Cargo aircraft 9V-SFA, 9V-SFK and 9V-SFL have already received the new livery. SFA and SFK have worn the new colours for at least a year.

[Nick C]

They won't repaint an aircraft until it is absolutely necessary (i.e. D check)

[sqdazz]

Hi All,

I flew on SQ238 Boeing 747-400 yesterday, 9V-SPQ from Melbourne to Singapore. This was a replacement for the A380 for the past week, I believe yesterday was the last day it was being swapped?? If so, perhaps I was now on the last SQ pax 744 from Melbourne

[dj_jay_smith]

.... Plus other cargo folks like NWA and CX don't paint their freighters - bare aluminium baby.

I doubt its pure aluminium, as it would be at too much risk from corrosion. More likely is that there are at least protective coat(s) which may be clear so it appears as such.

I believe I read recently that the A380 for LH has 4 coats.
1 protective base coat for the body,
1 coat to make removal of the upper coats easier (can't remember the name of this).
1 coat of the actual main colour (white for LH)
1 clear coat on top of that to protect it.

[boing]

I doubt its pure aluminium, as it would be at too much risk from corrosion. More likely is that there are at least protective coat(s) which may be clear so it appears as such.

I believe I read recently that the A380 for LH has 4 coats.
1 protective base coat for the body,
1 coat to make removal of the upper coats easier (can't remember the name of this).
1 coat of the actual main colour (white for LH)
1 clear coat on top of that to protect it.

No airline would let their a/c be flown with zero corrosion protection. It would turn out to be a kamikaze mission in the long run. What these bare metal livery a/c have is a film of transparent corrosion protector on the aluminum surface. If me memory serves me right, it's called alodine.

The cost savings from flying bare metal livery a/c comes from many fronts. First is the saving of not painting the a/c in the first place and later on of not maintaining every chip and discolouration. And secondly, the weight(fuel) savings as a typical paintjob on an a/c would add a few hundred kgs to an a/c.

[sutrakhk]

No airline would let their a/c be flown with zero corrosion protection. It would turn out to be a kamikaze mission in the long run. What these bare metal livery a/c have is a film of transparent corrosion protector on the aluminum surface. If me memory serves me right, it's called alodine.

The cost savings from flying bare metal livery a/c comes from many fronts. First is the saving of not painting the a/c in the first place and later on of not maintaining every chip and discolouration. And secondly, the weight(fuel) savings as a typical paintjob on an a/c would add a few hundred kgs to an a/c.

But AFAIK CX have dropped the bare metal livery due to the higher maintaining cost cannot be covered by the saved fuel. The newest delivery 774ERFs were all in normal colour scheem.

That means the CX's silver bullets are disappearing by repainting or retiring

[FN-GM]

I like the aluminum bodies. American Airlines fleet are all aluminum (except the odd few)

[Russ]

I like the aluminum bodies. American Airlines fleet are all aluminum (except the odd few)

Wonder what they'll do with their 787s - prob paint them white?
Bare metal saves weight and fuel

[nursalimLPP]

sq 11 still 747.... my mother just flew off today so sad oh wells..

[mhadian]

SQ11/12 will stay 747 for awhile, at least until early next year? I have booking for them in July and Sept, both still 747

[Kyo]

There still doesn't seem any dates for J or F redemptions on SQ11... even 330 days out