United Airlines 747 Sendoff

[timish]

Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
Originally Posted By: timish
Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
UAL is doing something nice to mark the passage of the 747 from passenger revenue service - A last flight from San Fran to Honolulu which was the first flight almost 50 years ago. Quite a run.


https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/United-Gives-747-Special-Send-Off-229647-1.html


The article has an error. They mention United was the launch customer of the 747.

Not true. Pan Am was the airline that approached Boeing for a larger jet and was the initial organization that launched that airframe in PAX service.



The AvWeb article has been updated by a paragraph at the end noting that both PanAm and Continental operated the 747 before United.


Yes. I emailed Russ who wrote the article with the Pan Am correction and he replied immediately thanking me. Thought that was pretty cool.

 

[4WD]

On this 3 weeks ago - snapped picture thinking it was my last B744

 

[4WD]

Think United was for B777 - I recall a 2-3-2 business class and Pratt's long before GE produced the GE90-115 for ER

 

[CincyDavid]

I'm starting to get the sick feeling I'm never going to be a pax on a 747...biggest plane I've flown on was a Delta L1011 around 1981ish?!? The ONLY 4 engine plane I've been on was a Braniff DC8 around that same time...as I recall it had brown leather seats that were very nice.

We see a decent number of Polar freight 747s arriving at CVG, white with yellow tails for the most part.

 

[fdcg27]

IIRC, there is a hard hour limit of 127K for the airframe.
It may be extended but only at great expense.
The -400s are therefore on their way out everywhere, although BA still has a decent sized fleet of them.
FWIU, both United and Delta were finding their 747s increasingly costly to maintain and troublesome, with Delta having inherited theirs from Northwest, although Delta also bought and quickly dumped some 747s way back in the day.
Fear not, though. The 747-8i will live on for many years with Lufthansa, so there will be the potential to fly on a 747 variant for a number of years to come.
This last pax 747 variant may well see a long enough time in service that 747 passenger aircraft will see sixty years in service, with the freighter conversions and new builds probably extending the service life of the type to more than seventy years.
Pretty good for an aircraft program that was considered an also-ran to the stillborn 2707 SST and that went on to nearly bankrupt BCA before finally turning the corner.

 

[4WD]

Yes, have a framed flight map from CO flight - early 90's - maybe a 200 or? They had just introduced Business First and it was better than BA's Club at the time ...

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
UAL is doing something nice to mark the passage of the 747 from passenger revenue service - A last flight from San Fran to Honolulu which was the first flight almost 50 years ago. Quite a run.


https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/United-Gives-747-Special-Send-Off-229647-1.html


I'm pleased to see this as well. The 747-400 was the first airplane that I flew at UAL and will always hold a special place in my heart. It's simply a great airplane. Many crews, pilots and F/As, feel the same way.

The extra attention, period uniforms, and flight are a great way to send the airplane off from UAL.

Yes, Pan-Am was launch customer for the 747. UAL was launch customer for the 777.

If you like the airplane, I highly recommend reading Joe Sutter's book. He was told to bring the airplane to market, and the company execs though that if they sold 50, they could make back their investment in design. The best engineers were assigned to the 2707 (SST) project, and that was getting all the money. But Sutter refused to cut corners and took his task seriously, building the best airplane he and his team could. His team was successful,because of his leadership and dedication, but he always credited them, not himself, for the project success.

Ultimately, the economics of the 747 killed the SST. The 747 was faster than the 707 (it's a 0.86 cruise airplane) and lowered the cost per seat/mile by 25% just as the SST was going to increase the cost. The oil price spikes in the early 70s drove airlines towards the cheaper operating cost of the new jumbo, and the rest, as the say, was history.

As a pilot, I can tell you that Joe Sutter and team built a great airplane. It handles well. It flies well. Despite its enormous size, it's a good airplane to fly. Control harmony, balance, feel, response, are all excellent in that airplane. A small model of one sits on my bookshelf, right next to Joe Sutter's book.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
IIRC, there is a hard hour limit of 127K for the airframe.
It may be extended but only at great expense.
The -400s are therefore on their way out everywhere, although BA still has a decent sized fleet of them.
FWIU, both United and Delta were finding their 747s increasingly costly to maintain and troublesome, with Delta having inherited theirs from Northwest, although Delta also bought and quickly dumped some 747s way back in the day.
Fear not, though. The 747-8i will live on for many years with Lufthansa, so there will be the potential to fly on a 747 variant for a number of years to come.

Doesn't Qantas and China Airlines have newer 744s that will be flying for the next 5-10 years, or they plan to phase those out when they get new 787s and A350s? I think China Airlines did get a few of the last 744s made, and Qantas has the ER variant to make the trip across the Pacific from points beyond LAX/SFO/SEA/YVR.

 

[fdcg27]

The last 744 was delivered to China Airlines in 2005, so it isn't exactly new. Five or ten years more service? Very likely, but you aren't talking about many frames. The 787 and A350 look very attractive, but you can still end up with lower costs overall if you can fill a 747 at decent fares operated over decently long and premium heavy routes.
Only six ER aircraft were delivered and Qantas also has plenty of A380s for these long routes.
After the late nineties, 747-400 delivery rates declined sharply and Boeing was eventually just trying to keep the line alive in anticipation of the advent of 747-8 production.
The -8 hasn't proven to be a great seller, although it is still an attractive choice for an operator that can afford and use new-build freighters. If the nose loading door is ordered, one can load cargo that no other civil aircraft can take, save for an earlier 747F model with the same swing-up nose.
We have likely seen the final -8i order, but Lufthansa will keep theirs in service for years to come.

 

[Mr Nice]

Immediately after new Air Force One and backup aircraft are built.... Boeing will announce the end 747 production.

My dad worked on the 747 when Pan Am first received them. He loved working on the 747, didn't like the DC-10.

 

[FlyNavyP3]

On my recent work trip to Europe I purposely booked a return leg on a KLM 744. At the time I thought it was a DAL flight, but turned out to be KLM. Coach/economy was cramped compared to the 787 I flew on the way over, a much less pleasant ride unfortunately on the 744 with its dated interior and entertainment system. Business and first class on the 744 were nicely updated, not economy unfortunately. Still I was thrilled to fly on one as it will likely be one of my last flights on one. I'm planning a trip with Lufthansa just to ride on their 747-800, that likely will be my last 747 flight sadly.

 

[PimTac]

The Dreamliners are nice, that’s for sure as I flew transpac a couple of weeks ago on a ANA 789. Very nice. But, flying on the 744’s always was an exciting moment. The turbulence on a 744 seems far less than on the Dreamliners. More weight the reason? A era gone by. I’m glad I participated.

 

[4WD]

Took a 787 Transpacific two weeks ago … it was bumpy now and then … but I have even seen A380’s jostling pretty hard on the same route … when it happened ~ I kinda of liked the fasten seat belt recording better than a flight attendant with a Marshall amp …

 

[PimTac]

Yes, the sound system is much clearer. On this last flight on the 789, we flew from NRT to SEA in less than 8 hours. Just over 7 ½ to be specific. I can still remember 10 hour flights.

The ventilation is much much better. The older 744s had the adjustable nozzles but the later ones did not. I always prefer some air blowing on me.

Not all the memories of the 744 are good though. Back in the Northwest Orient days, I inevitably seemed to always fly a 744 that I called the rattletrap. The overhead bins shook and rattled from departure to landing. Headphones didn’t help much.

 

[4WD]

This was also a 789 for 15 hours …
Continental had a 747 that rattled … it was the old style bins … but they were all 777 before the UA deal
(I flew in the first UA 777 as well)
Glad to see the 789/350 size selling … not a fan of ME “hubs” …

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: 4WD
This was also a 789 for 15 hours …
Continental had a 747 that rattled … it was the old style bins … but they were all 777 before the UA deal
(I flew in the first UA 777 as well)
Glad to see the 789/350 size selling … not a fan of ME “hubs” …




The rattle must have been due to the middle bins. They would really shake once we were were heading down the runway. I imagine NWO had the same 747 going back and forth on that route.


Now, I experiment with the Japanese toilet on ANA. Washing the bum with warmer or cooler water? How much pressure? Oops, thread drift.

 

[d4d]

Delta has been hosting similar functions within their route system as they too say "Aloha" and "Mahalo" to the Boeing 747-400, Queen of the Skies.
Aloha to Delta 747


It saddens me to think this legendary aircraft will no longer "chase the sun" across the world, leaving its distinctive four-engine contrails miles above the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Much love and respect to the Queen of The Skies as she creates her last contrails heading home...well done.

 

[KD0AXS]

Delta will be doing a 747 farewell tour with stops at ATL, DTW, MSP, SEA, and possibly others.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news...tl-dtw.amp.html

 

[PimTac]

I can still remember the people gathering at the windows when a 747 was pulling in. Wonder where it came from? How many people can it carry? Kids especially would go nuts with their parents in tow. It was a great era for aviation as it still held that mystique and the world was a lot bigger than it is today.

 

[4WD]

On this 3 weeks ago - snapped picture thinking it was my last B744

Turns out I grabbed a nice seat in the hump on one of the last BA B744’s … and now after an aircraft change - will fly on an LH B748i in 3 weeks. (UA codeshare itinerary)
Funny after all my Dreamliner and A380 flights … I’m finally booked on the 8i
Here is one on taxi last week (note the wing + chevron nacelle)