Delta Air Lines Begins Boeing 747 Retirement

[caption id="attachment_562" align="alignright" width="300"] A Delta Boeing 747-400 "smokes the mains" on arrival in Atlanta | Photo via Ryan Ewing[/caption] As oil prices rise, many airlines are beginning to or have already retired old, inefficient aircraft. Air New Zealand retired its final Boeing 747 aircraft last month, replacing it with a fleet of seven 777s. Lately, many Asian airlines have followed suit to stay in line with their competitors. China Eastern Airlines and China Airlines (Taiwan) recently took delivery of…