- A Boeing 747-8 that spent just 42 hours in the air is being dismantled, a report says.
- The $280 million jet was ordered for a Saudi prince, who died before it was delivered.
A Boeing Jumbo jet that spent just 42 hours in the air is being scrapped after the Saudi prince it was bought for died unexpectedly, a report said.
Germany's aero TELEGRAPH reported that the Boeing 747-8 was being dismantled at Pinal Airpark in Arizona after no buyer was found for the plane despite the asking price being slashed to just $95 million.
The aircraft was ordered for Saudi crown prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at a cost of about $280 million, but he died unexpectedly in October 2011, a year before it was delivered.
Data from planespotters.net showed the plane was flown in 2012 from San Antonio to Basel, Switzerland, where Mail Online reported it was due to be fitted out with a luxury interior.
But when the crown prince died, no other member of the Saudi royal family expressed interest in taking on the jet. As a result it stood unused for a decade at a Swiss airport while a buyer was sought.
Boeing repurchased the plane for an undisclosed sum three days before its final flight to Arizona in April, fueling expectations that the jet could have been saved, the Mail reported.
—Joel Basler | Aviation Photographer (@jbjetss) April 17, 2022
The jet has flown for just 42 hours and its "hardly used" status could have been a selling point for potential buyers. A Boeing 747 usually has a lifespan of about 30 years.
However, no buyer emerged for the jet and it is now be scrapped at the Arizona "boneyard".
The 747-8 continues to be used for cargo and for passenger jets by airlines including Lufthansa, although its four engines mean it is more expensive to operate than newer twin-engine planes such as the 787 Dreamliner or Airbus A350.
Earlier this month the last 747 to be made by Boeing rolled out of its factory in Washington state after half a century of production.
—Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) December 7, 2022