The reasons for the longevity of cargo planes and other aviation curiosities

The transport of goods has become today an essential and very lucrative activity, which makes a large part of its journeys by air.

The history of Iberia's Boeing 747, the largest aircraft of a Spanish operator
The brutal 'touch and go' of a Lufthansa Boeing 747 at Los Angeles Airport

One thing that often stands out is that cargo planes are usually older models, sometimes converted passenger planes, designed to operate exclusively for transporting goods by removing the seats. These planes typically remain in service for many years, unlike passenger planes, whose fleets are frequently renewed.

Let's look at a well-known case. In January 2023, aviacionline.com reported that of the 1,575 Boeing 747s built, only 421 remained in service, and 307 of those operated as cargo planes, with only 61 as passenger planes and the rest as military aircraft (such as the VC-25A presidential aircraft and the E-4B Nightwatch of the United States Air Force) or as testbeds.

How is it possible that an airplane that was so important for passenger transport is no longer useful for that purpose but is still useful for cargo transport? The reasons have to do with airplane engines, which are now quieter and more fuel-efficient, and other factors. On this topic, I recommend this excellent video from a YouTube channel I recently discovered: Aero Curiosidades (the video is in Spanish; you can activate automatic English subtitles in the player's bottom bar).

This channel is publishing some excellent videos about commercial aviation, very well explained and with good technical data. Two weeks ago, they published another very interesting video about the reasons why some airplanes have their engines under the wings and others in the tail:

And yesterday he posted this other video in which he explains why commercial airplanes don't usually carry their fuel tanks full:

I think channels like this one and Fly By Wire Aviation (an essential aviation channel that I highly recommend subscribing to) are doing a great job of educating the public about the world of aviation, bringing very detailed content to a wider audience. It's always a pleasure to watch such well-made videos.

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Main photo: MarcelX42. A Boeing 747-281B(SF), the ER-BAT.