The last 747

[flatbutt]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/boeing-prepares-for-the-last-delivery-of-iconic-747-jumbo-jet/ar-AA16TQla

Wow 50 years. Back in '97 I started flying back and forth to London on BAs 747 frequently. That version only had a dozen or so seats on the upper deck and my company practically owned those seats. We traveled comfortably up there conducting business and eating well. Those were the days.

[sc_rufctr]

The first time I traveled on one was in 1978 & I was 15 years old!

I was amazed at how big it was inside and that fact that the whole thing was actually flying in the air!
- Now it's like nothing. We take so much for granted in our modern world.

The hump made it an icon and immediately recognizable.

[Bob Kontak]

Anchorage airport, late 80's. Flying Tiger 747's would lay over there. Every once in a while they would have a shorty in there. The 747SP. Odd looking. A little too big to be cute.

[Bob Kontak]

Flew in the up top in a Quantas 747 from Singapore to Frankfurt in 2006. 15-ish hours.

It's not huge up there but there is no sensation you are in a cattle car.

I did fly several times from Heathrow to O'Hare first class on BA. That's a treat. You can turn into Mr Creosote if you choose. I throttled it back to just having a second scone.

[javadog]

My favorite plane for crossing an ocean. First flew in one around 1970. Big step up from the 707 that I first flew across the Pacific in 1968.

To this day, I much prefer four engines on a transoceanic flight. I have one more Asia trip in me someday, hopefully there will be somebody still flying one of these.

I once flew one back from Asia in the early 70s that might’ve had 15 or 20 people on the whole plane. That was a good flight.

[911 Rod]

It was really cool that they had stairs to the upper deck.
Almost as cool as free booze and being able to smoke.

[stevej37]

I wonder if anyone on here was fortunate enough to fly on a Concorde?
I wish I could have.

[javadog]

I never flew on one but I spent a little time in one sitting on the ground in Paris, France in 1970.

Really small fuselage. Would’ve been a cool flight but it was stupid money for a ticket.

I’m too cheap to buy a first class ticket, let alone a Concorde ticket.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by javadog

My favorite plane for crossing an ocean.

Mine as well.

The first time I flew in a 747 was in 1974. I flew from LAX to Atlanta...great experience.

Oddly, the flight from ATL to Augusta, where my Dad picked me up, was in a twin engine prop plane - it may have been pistoned powered, not sure.

Delta.

I had flown a bunch as a kid so it was neat - going from Stars Wars to Waldo Pepper in the same day.

[stevej37]

Yes...I think each row in the Concorde had only four seats and I seem to remember the lowest ticket prices were around $3K round-trip? (maybe more, but still a lot of money back then)

[javadog]

Talk about Waldo Pepper, the worst plane I ever flew in was a clapped out DC3. I don’t know how that one ever managed to retain an airworthiness certificate.

Over the Atlantic, no less. At least part of it.

Concorde prices varied with the era but towards the end they were about six grand each way, New York to London. Occasionally they had a promotional deal.

[matthewb0051]

My first 747 experience was in 1987 from San Francisco to London (even though my journey began in Texas). Pan Am and it was glorious.

Flight attendant came on intercom and said "folks, we are not full. Feel free to find a row to yourself and spread out". Decent food and free booze. My how times have changed. Now the only way to be comfortable is get in business or 1st class.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by javadog

Talk about Waldo Pepper, the worst plane I ever flew in was a clapped out DC3. I don’t know how that one ever managed to retain an airworthiness certificate.

Over the Atlantic, no less. At least part of it.

Concorde prices varied with the era but towards the end they were about six grand each way, New York to London. Occasionally they had a promotional deal.

I once flew on a DC3 from Ozark Airlines . It was from O'Hare to Mt. Pleasant Iowa . I swear we were flying so low you could read the ear tags on the cows in the fields . Worst flying experience ever .

[GG Allin]

It says 777X will be it's replacement. I'm curious if that is for cargo too. Currently the 747 is THE cargo workhorse. I wonder what the 777X cargo capacity is.

Not surprised that Atlas is getting the last one. Atlas 747's are as common as pigeons here at O'Hare. We'll send 10, 53 footers to clean one out.

[911boost]

I have not been to Asia in a few years, but Cathay Pacific Airways had a ton of 747's last time I was there. I flew an Air China 747 to Beijing from SF once after getting delayed an missing my connection in SF. Was upstairs and that was an interesting experience......

[javadog]

Last 747 I flew in was in 1982, nighttime flight from New York to Frankfurt. Had a middle section seat. Completely full flight, lots of screaming rugrats. I traded my seat to a couple chicks for their portion of the floor so I could lay down and sleep.

A little bit ghetto but I hate screaming rugrats.

[GH85Carrera]

My dad talked about flying on a Pan AM 747 from NYC to LA back in the days before deregulation. He was on official Air Force business, flying commercial, so it was economy class ticket way in the back. He said he hoofed it to his assigned seat and was all alone in the section.

The stewardess was making the pre-flight announcements and and said there is no reason for us to walk all the way back there with so few passengers. Please everyone come up to first class. There were just a handful of customers, and dad said he had a stewardess all to himself, as did all the other passengers. Free drinks, and the first class meal. He payed cards with his stewardess for the entire flight. He said it was far and away the best commercial flight he ever had.

I can't even imagine how much it cost to fly a 747 across the country, likely one reason Pan Am is long gone. No days of course they would cancel the flight and not go. Back then, a scheduled flight had to fly under the regulations.

[Otter74]

I have no direct memories of the plane, but we used to fly Pan Am 747s between Venezuela and the US when I was a kid. I do vaguely remember Pan Am, and I've somehow been infected with a vague romance towards the 747.

Friends of ours used to sometimes go to Maiquetia to watch the weekly Concorde flight between Caracas and London take off - I kinda wish my parents had done that with us, too. Needless to say, I've never been on one. But once in I think the 80s, my grandparents were flying from New York to London on British Airways on vacation, first class, and somehow ended up getting offered seats on the Concorde instead. Obviously, they took the offer.

[porsche tech]

[speeder]

The Concorde was about speed, no luxury involved. Never flew on one but know plenty of people who have.