747-200F or 747-400F...?
Gas guzzlers...
Three cockpit crewmembers or two...
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I am afraid most of you got it quite wrong...
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Payload, we have leased 747-271C that had a max payload of 110,500 kg.
Same airline offered us a 747-400F for lease with 116,000 payload.
The 747-400 was some $1,000/hour more than a 747-200...
Both airplanes required an intermediate stop on the route Argentina/Europe.
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Fuel - There was a small advantage for the fuel burn on the 400F...
With equal payload, savings would be 4,000 kg (5,100 liters) for sector Argentina/Europe.
The fuel savings do not offset the higher cost of the airplane.
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Crewing...
Because of duty/flight time, crew of 3 is required on both types...
Captain + F/O + F/E crew cost in Argentina is less than 2 captains + 1 F/O.
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So where are the savings...?
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All these new "entrants" in the air cargo market go belly-up after a few month.
The old-timers, Evergreen, Kalitta, Southern Air, Polar are happy with old 747 freighters.
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Happy contrails