British Airways plans to retire its fleet of Boeing 747s with immediate effect due to the coronavirus pandemic's impact on air travel.
“It is unlikely our magnificent ‘Queen of the Skies’ will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic,” the airline said.
BA, the world’s biggest operator of the jumbo jet, has 31 Boeing 747-400s powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. The jets can carry up to 345 passengers in a four-class configuration.
The jets were operated on various routes including Dubai, Beijing, San Francisco, Mexico and Cape Town before travel restrictions to curb the spread of the virus forced the airline to ground them.
“While the aircraft will always have a special place in our heart, as we head into the future we will be operating more flights on modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as our new A350s and 787s, to help us achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” BA said.
BA, which is owned by the International Consolidated Airlines Group, operated its first 747 flight in April 1971 through its predecessor BOAC. It took delivery of its first 747-400 in July 1989 and its last one in April 1999.
The health crisis dealt a huge blow to the aviation industry and the ensuing travel downturn forced operators to ground their fleets, lay off or furlough staff and defer plane deliveries to cope.
Airlines are also reviewing their fleet plans and assessing the type of aircraft that will be best suited to much smaller markets once the pandemic subsides.
The outbreak has cast doubts on the future of many airlines and forced others into bankruptcy.
Governments around the world have come to the rescue of their national airlines with financial aid packages to help them survive.
However, many operators said they do not expect travel demand to return to pre-coronavirus levels until 2023 or 2024 as the crisis takes its toll on the world economy, consumer spending and passenger confidence.
British Airways is the latest airline to announce the retirement of its 747 fleet after Qantas, which held three farewell flights across Australia before grounding the jumbo jet.
Boeing’s ‘Queen of the Skies’ revolutionised air travel in the 1970s before the advent of modern twin-engined aircraft.
The jumbo jet marked its 50-year flight anniversary in February 2019.
The jet marked its 50-year flight anniversary in February 2019, with the cargo market, whose growth has been fuelled by online shopping, giving it a new lease of life.
According to Bloomberg, Boeing will stop making the 747 soon, with the last jet expected to leave its Seattle factory in about two years.
Airbus has also pulled the plug on its A380 double-decker aircraft as airlines opt for twin-engined jets for long-haul flights.
BA announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs, or about 30 per cent of its workforce, a move described as a “national disgrace” by UK politicians.
However, IAG chief executive Willie Walsh insisted the company had acted lawfully as pressure mounted on the aviation industry.
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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