Qantas has closed a chapter on its history, farewelling the Boeing 747 series in a stunning event this morning. Bittersweet words were spun by CEO Alan Joyce, in time as the engines spun up for the last flight of the Qantas Boeing 747-400. The final aircraft departed Sydney in the early afternoon for its resting place in California.
Farewell celebrations
The Australian carrier celebrated the end of an era, inviting Qantas legends and media alike to get up close and personal with the last Boeing 747 in the fleet.
The aircraft, VH-OEJ, will perform the adeptly named QF7474 flight from Sydney’s Kingsford Smith (SYD) to Los Angeles (LAX), before being shuttled to its final resting place deep in the Mojave desert.
#QF7474 now with an active transponder preparing to push back from the gate. https://t.co/lTcIhVHSNp pic.twitter.com/j6k1CaPOYD
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 22, 2020
The flight will carry no passengers, with the previous weeks’ joy flights around Australia concluding actual passenger services.
During the event, Qantas team members were invited to sign and write fond messages on the belly of the beast.
This reporter managed to leave their message on the aircraft.
Older pilots, one notable ex-Qantas 747 pilot who was 94 years old, were able to caress the airframe one last time.
Following the walkaround, several notable partners gave speeches about the Boeing 747, including Alan Joyce, the CEO of Qantas Group.
After the speeches, the crew boarded the aircraft and waved farewell, and the plane taxied to the ramp. It took off at 3:28 pm local time and began its final flight path. The aircraft plans to fly north up the coast of Sydney, then returning down to dip its wings to the first Qantas Boeing 747 stored in a museum on the south coast of NSW. The aircraft then will turn left and head to California.
What impact has the Boeing 747 had on Qantas
The Boeing 747 had a significant impact on Qantas and its operations. It allowed the airline to not only connect far-flung destinations across the world (beyond just routes over the pacific to Los Angeles) but also opened the flood gates to economy travellers thanks to a large number of seats available.
“The Boeing 747 has changed Qantas; it has changed aviation in Australia, it has changed aviation in the world” – Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said during the event.
For many Australian passengers, this author included, the Qantas Boeing 747 was the first aircraft they flew on internationally. Others who moved to Australia during the immigration drive of the 1970s first experience of Australian culture was onboard the 747, as it whisked them away to a better life.
Notable events include:
- Qantas deployed the 747s for rescue flights during the Darwin cyclone, where the Boeing 747 carried a world-record number of people fleeing the devastation.
- After the Bali Bombings in 2002, Qantas sent nine Boeing 747s to the Indonesian island (the first time they had flown there) to bring Australians home.
- In 2004, the Qantas 747 was instrumental in rescue and aid operations for the Boxing Day Tsunami in South East Asia.
Qantas will replace all the Boeing 747 operations with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The passing of these great aircraft ushers in a new age of fuel-efficient quiet aircraft, that are cheaper to operate and can do the distance.
The Qantas Boeing 747 has left an impressional impact on Australia, and the world and the only way to end an article like this (and 49 years of history) is with a simple, matter of fact, sign off.
The Qantas Boeing 747 entered into service in 1971 and was retired in 2020.