Today we turn our attention to the state of the large widebody freighter fleet as a whole, asking how the entry into service of the current generation of large freighters – and the demand growth seen in 2014 and so far this year – has affected the pre-existing large widebody freighter fleet. Some observers have concluded that this demand increase will not only spell an end to retirements, but in fact cause carriers to return previously parked freighters to service. While it is true that the converted freighters are not as fuel efficient at production models, and cannot compete in terms of payload and range, it is also worth pointing out that part of the reason for the parking of such a large percentage of BCFs is that they are the oldest 747-400 freighters.