UAL final 747 revenue flight, SFO-HNL, 11/7

MikeD

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Another airline era comes to an end. Some great pics in the USA Today article below....

@A Life Aloft


https://www.usatoday.com/story/trav...ines-final-boeing-747-flight-today/838922001/

SAN FRANCISCO — It sure didn’t feel like a curtain call. But that’s what it was Tuesday morning at San Francisco International Airport as United Airlines bid farewell to its last Boeing 747.

United Flight 747 took off around noon PT, about an hour later than scheduled because of slow boarding and a maintenance delay, departing from Gate 86 after a de facto party among those ticketed on what went into the books as United’s last-ever passenger flight on the 747.

All on board had booked the flight specifically to be on the last 747 departure, a special one-off flight scheduled by United in September to give the famous jumbo jet a proper farewell.

“It’s a grand finale, no question,” United CEO Oscar Munoz said from the jet’s upper deck just before takeoff. “It’s a fitting send-off in the most dignified way for the ‘Queen of the Skies’.”

Tickets for the 374-seat jet sold out in hours, despite fares of $550 and up for the one-way flight to Hawaii.

“I had to be here,” said John Vanderford, 56, of Detroit, as he partied with other Flight 747 customers prior to boarding. “It’s the last 747 flight. I remember flying it as a kid, on this exact route — San Francisco to Honolulu."

Following Tuesday’s flight, the plane will return empty to San Francisco before making its final flight to an airline “boneyard” in the California desert later this week.

The retirement ends the iconic plane’s 47-year run at United, which took its first version of the jet in 1970. Now, with United’s 747 out of service, Delta is the only U.S. passenger carrier that still flies the jet.

But the Queen of the Skies’ days are numbered there, too.

Delta’s final flight on the 747 also is on the horizon. Delta’s last flight on the plane will come next month, meaning no U.S. carrier will by flying the aircraft into 2018. Like United, Delta’s last 747 also will head to a southwestern salvage yard, likely in early 2018.

The trend extends beyond U.S. shores as the passenger version of the 747 faces flagging fortunes elsewhere. A number of other global airlines — including Air France and Hong Kong’s Cathay — have retired their 747s recently.

Just this week, British Airways — the world’s largest remaining operator of the 747 — confirmed its plans to begin phasing out the jet. Of the 36 still in its fleet, British Airways said half will be gone by 2021 and the rest by early 2024.

United rolled out a “throwback” theme for the flight, an attempt to recreate the carrier’s first-ever passenger flight on the 747. Not coincidentally, that first flight also flew from San Francisco to Honolulu.

United pulled out all the stops to evoke the magic of that era on Tuesday’s flight. Crews donned 1970s retro uniforms and customers were offered items from a “1970s-inspired” menu.

When it first announced the flight back in September, United promised the old-school vibe would “help send the Queen of the Skies off in true style.”

The crowd assembled for the flight seemed to appreciate the effort.

“When they said it was going out with style, this is style,” Vanderford said shortly before boarding began.

The party continued onboard Tuesday as United Flight 747 took its spot in the record books.

The flight landed in Honolulu shortly after 3 p.m. local time Tuesday, retracing United's inaugural 747 route from 1970. Once in Hawaii, the farewell party continued into the evening -- first at the arrival gate, then in Honolulu's Waikiki neighborhood as many of the Flight 747 passengers made their way into the city.

As for United, the airline will move on to newer aircraft — newer models of the Boeing 777 — to help it replace the flying that had been done on the 747.

“The advent of the new aircraft, while not as iconic or romantic, are certainly incredibly efficient and wonderful vehicles for transportation," Munoz, the United CEO, said. “It’s just an evolving aspect of what we all do.”

 
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Yeah, it's sad. Well done though. Still just sad. Be different if we were moving on to something truly inspiring and better, but I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just bad at dealing with change.

One weird thing about the movie, what's with the strange "me too" Continental stuff, like the flight sim -400 painted up in Lorenzo red? Weird. Or the logo on the route map, just kind of stuck there, weird. Seems a more reasonable depiction of the United 747 story would, if anything, depict the PAA contribution, rather than fictional Continental flight sim screen shots. Weird.

Anyway, I'll miss it.


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Delta's 747s, along with most of the rest of their retired fleet planes, are all here or coming here to my home field MZJ. Are the retired UAL 747s going to VCV?
 
Delta's 747s, along with most of the rest of their retired fleet planes, are all here or coming here to my home field MZJ. Are the retired UAL 747s going to VCV?
Yup. I have seen a few on Flightaware heading there.
 
Yup. I have seen a few on Flightaware heading there.

Seems every airline has their own places. Before Delta being the main customer here, the biggest number of planes here were from NWA....Delta used to retire a number to VCV also. Not many UAL planes here, save for one 737. AA seems to use ROW mainly, as well as GYR where many of their DC-10s ended up. Same with UAL DC-10s; the bulk of both eventually becoming MD-10s for FedEx right there at GYR. SWA seems to use TUS for their 737-300/500s.
 
As for UAL 747s, I never got to ride on a -400. Only ever the -100/200 and the SP, with the old classic spiral staircase up to the second deck.
 
The weather was kind of blah out here when the plane got here, but I guess there was a pretty big crowd waiting for it.
 
It was the best of times.....she carried the space shuttles and the Presidents.....she carried royalty, dignitaries and celebrities......she carried millions of pax millions of miles all over the world.....

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Boeing had this ad out for her saying that she would introduce the Spacious Age to pax

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This was Pan Am's first commercial for her


Here's the Qantas ad for their first 400


UAL


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At UAL, were the -100/200/SP considered a separate aircraft from the -400 for flying/bidding purposes? Or did all 747 crews fly all models?
 
At UAL, were the -100/200/SP considered a separate aircraft from the -400 for flying/bidding purposes? Or did all 747 crews fly all models?
Nope. Different type ratings. B747-100/-200/-300/SP/SR one common rating and one pilot group, 400 series was it's own separate type rating and a different pilot group.
 
During my brief tenure in the Friendly Skies, I had the honor of working her several times. She took me to Taipei, Frankfurt, Hong Kong... Places that were just a name on a map to this country boy. One flight stands out in my mind, just a few months ago. I had made the decision to move into management at a different company. Despite the financial incentives of my soon to be new position, I was sad and filled with doubt. I also know my ship was retiring soon. It was an easy red eye from SFO-ORD; probably one of her last domestic runs. I was First Class aisle, very simple on a redeye domestic; toss some drinks and a snack basket out, then leave the sleeping passengers be. In between the mandated cabin checks and ensuring my section was always staffed, I wandered my ship's decks with a sense of the stories she carried. There were so many little spaces on the 747 where you could be by yourself. Up in the aft crew rest area, I put my hand on the upper bulkhead, where I'd spent hours trying to sleep on crew rest, but too excited as I was whisked to new, exotic places. The subtle roar of the air rushing around the fuselage and the engines reliably burning away was the symphony of the sky. Every flight attendant I talked to had a story of her, some good and some bad, but always of the uniqueness of this bird. She will be missed...
 
Lufthansa and Korean will probably be operating them for the foreseeable future. With the -8i. British Airways still has a bunch of 400s to.
Honestly, I bet you still see these things in the air here and there 30 years from now.
 
My very first flight was on board a UA 747. That is what brought us to the US to start a new life, and how my curiosity about aviation was started. I was 4 at the time, prior to that never even remember seeing a plane. I still remember staring out the window and seeing the white jumbo, with the tulip on the tail and the stripes on the side. I also remember my mom dropping jello on my dads foot due to turbulence while eating lol!
 
Glad I got to fly on a 747 once. Too bad I was too young to remember it. Aer Lingus, JFK to Shannon in 1990 I think it was. I do remember the stewardess gave me a snap together 747 model to keep me entertained.
 
It was the best of times.....she carried the space shuttles and the Presidents.....she carried royalty, dignitaries and celebrities......she carried millions of pax millions of miles all over the world.....

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Boeing had this ad out for her saying that she would introduce the Spacious Age to pax

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This was Pan Am's first commercial for her


Here's the Qantas ad for their first 400


UAL


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Nice find of all these old ads and videos. Thanks for this post, awesome stuff! :)
 
When UA893 arrived on 10/29 as the last revenue flight, just about every 747 parked at SFO left for VCV within a few hours. From Halloween until the 7th, both the United 747s with the 70s decal sat by the Superbay Hangar among the 777s stationary. I took 2 trips out to the access road and managed a few shots as they were right by the fence line. Many of United's -400s were delivered within a few weeks of the day I was born, so I've really been seeing the things lumber in and out of SFO my whole life. It was always an awesome treat as a kid to be looking down at SFO from my parent's home in the 90s and all of a sudden see a white United 747 come thundering down the 10s against traffic and do an early rotation and steep left turn towards OAK where the jet was going for maintenance. Usually 2 jets would land parallel as the plane was still banking around to join a left downwind at OAK and I could watch the whole flight. Last flew on one in 1999 SFO-ORD in biz, everytime I tried to non-rev on one domestically, UA yanked the plane for another broken 747 and I was now stranded with a 767 or 757 even now sitting there at the gate oversold. Tried to go to ICN on one in October but all the flights back suddenly oversold. I kind of wish I just took the upper deck biz class seat and figured out the way back, but I had like $300 to my name and only 3 days until I had to be back at work so decided it was too adventurous. Maybe I'll get to fly the freight version one day, who knows.

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Many of United's -400s were delivered within a few weeks of the day I was born, so I've really been seeing the things lumber in and out of SFO my whole life. It was always an awesome treat as a kid to be looking down at SFO from my parents in the 90s and all of a sudden see a white United 747 come thundering down the 10s against traffic and do an early rotation and steep left turn towards OAK where the jet was going for maintenance.

Man.......and here I remember watching UAL DC-8s going in and out of PHX as a kid. And when -400s didnt even exist. Good times :)

Nice pics there!
 
I always knew that I wanted to be a pilot, but it was a visit to the cockpit of a United 747-200 going from HNL-SFO in 2000 that cemented becoming an airline pilot as my career goal. It was a red eye and everyone was exhausted but I was up the entire flight, too excited to sleep because I was riding on a 747.

Good on United for giving the queen a proper farewell. I understand the ‘why’ behind the decision to retire the type, but there is the romantic side to the airplane that makes this sad to me as well.
 
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