During the Golden Age of Aviation, four-engine aircraft, otherwise known as quadjets, were all the rage. They scattered airfields both civil and military the world over. No one could seem to get enough of them.
Quadjets like the Boeing 747, Airbus A380, de Havilland Comet and Concorde became emblematic of the aviation industry as a whole and among the most produced airliners of their day. Yet today, most aircraft manufacturers are ending production of what few quadjets remain in production. But why?
Though the COVID-19 pandemic hastened many manufacturers’ decision to end production of quadjets, other factors such as the extension of ETOPS regulations, their comparatively higher cost and a change in how we fly all contributed to the downfall of the mighty quadjet.
Although there had already been a slowdown in the number of four-engine aircraft being built by the early 2010s, the perceived failure of the Airbus A380 is often seen as the beginning of the end of quadjets by many.
In this article, we will endeavor to discover what a quadjet is, why they were so popular for the best part of 70 years, and ultimately why only a few models remain in production today.
What is a Quadjet?
As the name would imply, a quadjet is any aircraft (military or civil) that is powered by four engines. The most typical engine configuration for such an aircraft sees all four engines mounted under the wing.
In some rare instances, however, the engines may be “buried” in the wing itself to increase aerodynamics. In others, the engines may be situated side-by-side on the rear fuselage in what’s called a “rear engined quad layout”.
The origins of the quadjet go back to the piston era, when aircraft manufacturers wanted to increase the range, speed and capacity of their aircraft.
With little knowledge of aerodynamics – at least by modern standards – aircraft manufacturers resorted to adding more engines;
Why Were Quadjets so Popular?
Why Are Quadjets Being Phased Out of Production?
Outside of a select few military aircraft, the Boeing 747-8F (the cargo variant of the 747-8) and the Ilyushin Il-96, most quadjets have ceased production owing to a number of factors, including:
Higher Costs
Low Cost Competitors
ETOPS
COVID
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world in the early months of 2020, governments around the world took various measures to contain the virus, including travel restrictions and lockdowns (among others).
These two in particular adversely affected travel-related industries such as the aviation industry greatly, as governments forced them to adopt policies that saw them run flights at half capacity, and most importantly, a loss.
Consequently, most airlines began to hemorrhage money to the extent they require billions of dollars of government bailout money to avoid going under. In many cases, governments attached conditions to these bailouts, the most common of which was that airlines reduce their costs.
Already struggling to fill their large quadjets pre-COVID and their high operating costs eating into profit, many of the airlines who’d not yet retired their quadjets did so en masse, beginning with Qantas’ 747s in July 2020 before other airlines followed suit.
Now with a huge influx of well-maintained, relatively new large quadjets flooding the secondary market, cargo airlines (who had become the largest buyer of quadjets since the early 2000’s) stopped placing orders with manufacturers in favor of converting these dirt-cheap former airliners.
As a result, four-engine airliners like the 747 and A380 (despite the latter not having a cargo derivative) saw their production ended – save for the 747-8F cargo variant – as manufacturers had no orders for them, nor did they see any being placed in the foreseeable future.
Military aircraft on the other hand were either unaffected by COVID, or saw their delivery dates pushed back due to factory closures arising from outbreaks or government-mandated lockdowns.
What do you think about the mighty quadjet? Should it see a return? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Eric Salard via Flickr.