{"id":88456,"date":"2025-02-14T21:42:33","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T21:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/united-747-farewell\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T21:42:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T21:42:33","slug":"united-747-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=88456","title":{"rendered":"United 747 Farewell"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nSaying Goodbye to the Queen of the Skies<\/span><\/h4>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\nOn November 7, 2017, United Airlines flew its last passenger 747 flight after 47 years of service.\u00a0 As an aviation enthusiast in San Francisco (SFO), it was a sad day.\u00a0 The iconic Jumbo had been a staple at SFO ever since I started plane spotting there.<\/p>\n


I saw her evolve from the ugly gray Battleship<\/i> scheme:<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\nTo my favorite, Rising Blue<\/i> scheme:<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\nFinally ending her service on the uninspiring UniCon Globe<\/i> scheme:<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Every morning, the entire fleet it seemed, would arrive from Asia.\u00a0 By midday, they’d make their turn and return to the Far East.\u00a0 A few stragglers would remain in the afternoon to Europe.\u00a0 \u00a0Those on maintenance or spares lined up at the Super Bay.\u00a0 Every spotting session at SFO would be the same: United 747s everywhere.<\/p>\n

By 2017, despite the fact the Queen was near retirement, you’d never know it at SFO.\u00a0 In her last summer of service, scenes like this were still typical:<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

But I knew the end was near.\u00a0 I wanted to say goodbye.\u00a0 Fortunately, United went all out and made it special for everyone – from employees to enthusiasts alike.\u00a0 It was great to have an airline in your hometown to acknowledge its heritage and embrace the fanbase.<\/p>\n

\n747 Friend Ship<\/h3>\n

United Commemorates the 747\u2019s Retirement with Retro 1970s Titles<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

The Queen flew in the Fleet Week Airshow in early October and on that same weekend, kicked off her month-long retirement celebration at United Family Day.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Sure, 1970s retro “747 Friend Ship” titles\u00a0was an inelegant patch job, but it was the thought that counts!<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n#UA747Farewell<\/h3>\n

Farewell Friend Ship 747: Final Curtain Call For United\u2019s 747-400<\/a>
\n(I co-authored this article)<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Let’s start with the end.\u00a0 I flew on United’s final 747 passenger flight on November 7th.\u00a0 Flight UA 747 was a retro<\/i> flight – a throwback to 1970 – when United first flew the 747 from SFO to Honolulu (HNL).\u00a0 Between flight attendants dressed up in 1970s uniforms to the low fly-by over the Golden Gate Bridge, it was one of the most memorable flights in my life!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Video Trip Report<\/a>\u00a0(View on Youtube)<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\nFlightradar24’s podcast<\/a> about this flight.\u00a0 Fast forward to 12:26 and listen for the shoutout by my co-author.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\n747s Around the World<\/h3>\n
\n<\/div>\n

\nTotal flying time:\u00a0 <\/b>29 hours 35 minutes<\/span><\/p>\n

\nTotal distance:\u00a0<\/b>\u00a014,495 NMiles (26,844 km)<\/span><\/div>\n

\nAverage aircraft age:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a019.2 years<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\nOne week before United retired the 747 from regular service, I made a trip around the world, flying only on the 747, of course!\u00a0 It was a simple three-flight itinerary:\u00a0 SFO to Frankfurt (FRA) on United, FRA to Seoul (ICN) on Lufthansa, and ICN back to SFO on United.\u00a0 That last flight back home was United’s last international 747 flight.\u00a0 It was also United’s last 747 landing at SFO with passengers on board.<\/p>\n

Segment 1 Trip Report<\/a>:\u00a0 SFO-FRA<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Segment 2 Trip Report<\/a>:\u00a0 FRA-ICN<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Segment 3 Trip Report<\/a>:\u00a0 ICN-SFO
United’s last international 747 flight.
United’s last 747 landing at SFO with passengers.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\nIt is an end of an era.\u00a0 After almost 50 years, there is no longer any United 747s at its Pacific Hub in San Francisco.\u00a0 However, whenever I look across to the Super Bay, I will always think of this scene:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
747s Everywhere!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\nFarewell, my Queen!<\/span><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saying Goodbye to the Queen of the Skies On November 7, 2017, United Airlines flew its last passenger 747 flight after 47 years of service.\u00a0 As an aviation enthusiast in San Francisco (SFO), it was a sad day.\u00a0 The iconic Jumbo had been a staple at SFO ever since I started plane spotting there. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12028],"tags":[14325,9148],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-88456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-airline","tag-farewell","tag-united"],"yoast_head":"\nUnited 747 Farewell - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=88456\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"United 747 Farewell - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Saying Goodbye to the Queen of the Skies On November 7, 2017, United Airlines flew its last passenger 747 flight after 47 years of service.\u00a0 As an aviation enthusiast in San Francisco (SFO), it was a sad day.\u00a0 The iconic Jumbo had been a staple at SFO ever since I started plane spotting there. 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