Classic's old?
Egos aside and lets stay on the subject. Seems that some sensitivities where touched by what was supposedly an insesitive comment about the age of the 747 "Classic", very girlish really.
It is an old airplane and old technology. 1960's technology to be precise. Over 40 years old, not 20. The 767 is 70's tech and the A320 from the 80's. Not to be picky but the first fligth of the type is just that: The first flight. Design is a minimum of a 5 year process prior to flying the airplane.
Systems are starting to get very unreliable compared to more modern designs and failures happens more and more often. Laws of getting old I guess or inadequate maintenance procedures and practices.
The aircraft is a high workload aircraft in a busy enviroment and you MUST maintain situational awareness at all times. With the addition of GPS and better RNAV systems the aircraft became easier to operate but is is still an old airplane and has its own quircks. The autoflight system is ancient and does only certain things for you and some of them, depending on the airframe, not very well requiring constant attention and extensive monitoring. FFRATS (Auto Throttle) is only as good as the INS platform that gives it info. Etc etc.
There are certainly more reasons than the above why first line carriers are retiring the classic all around the world and delegating them to "Bottom Feeders" like my name sake, no offence meant, just a fact.
Most classics flying around are now airframes built in the early -80s with some of saltier ones from late -70's still soldiering on. Many have reached or are approaching D-checks and with present economic enviroment, last few years if we look at cost of maintenance for the classic in general, the economy of running an aircraft through a D is un-economical.
There is no doubt about it being a pleasure to hand fly and to operate. I really like the airplane. It is fast and gets to places quick. Carries 100+ tons of freight and flies +8h with full load. Fuel price has come down so it is not as bad for the wallet of the owner or customer than it was some months ago.
The 747 has a place in my heart and I really enjoy the airplane. Anyone having a chance to fly it who turns the it down will surely miss something.