A parade of flags begins the show. A live band plays blues riffs between speakers. There was even a famous Hollywood actor coming out from behind the stage.
It’s all part of Boeing’s celebratory performance to give the “Queen of the Sky” a well-deserved farewell.
Thousands of invited spectators — including many current and former Boeing employees — gathered at the wide-body aircraft factory north of Seattle to bid farewell to the 747, the jumbo jet. The world’s first giant is possibly the most recognizable commercial airliner ever produced.
Taking place symbolically in the building where the plane was first built more than 50 years ago, the event marks the delivery of the final 747 to go into production.
Stan Deal, CEO of the company’s Boeing Commercial Airplanes, kicked off the hour-long celebration by praising the 747 as “the plane that changed the world forever”.
Deal led a range of speakers, from former Boeing executives to current CEOs of Lufthansa and Atlas Air, two of the world’s largest 747 operators.
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Also on stage was actor and airline pilot John Travolta, who revealed that the voice guests heard recounting the event’s videos was none other than him.
But the most dramatic moment of the event came about an hour after the celebration when Boeing opened the hangar doors to unveil the final 747 as a fitting backdrop.
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“With that, give up. It’s going to be a little chilly,” Boeing’s Deal warned the crowd as the hangar doors began to open.
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The cold hit after a windy afternoon in Puget Sound, but the crowd was undeterred, cheering as the plane appeared.
The plane – tail number N863GT and delivered to cargo carrier Atlas Air – will go down in aviation puzzle history as the answer to the question: “Which airline took the last 747 ever produced export?”
As the applause subsided, Atlas Air CEO John Dietrich took to the stage, calling it “an incredible honor for me to be here today for this important event in the history of the United States.” aviation history.”
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“Seeing our aircraft on this big stage is a very proud moment for all of us at Atlas Air,” he continued, noting that Atlas Air is the largest operator in the world. world of 747. He calls it “the biggest, worst commercial airliner to fly out there.”
Once deliveries are complete, the plane is scheduled to fly from Boeing’s Everett factory at 8 a.m. local time (11 a.m. EST) on Wednesday morning, arriving in Cincinnati.
With that, the 747 production era will come to an end.
However, don’t worry, you can still fly the 747. Lufthansa, Air China, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are still there. use the aircraft for passengers.
Lufthansa overhauls 747 cabins?
There is an interesting possibility that appears in the 747 farewell event.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr hinted Lufthansa could overhaul its 747 cabins when he made his remarks to a gathering crowd on Tuesday.
It started when he praised the jet, saying he had connected in San Francisco en route from Frankfurt to Seattle specifically so he could fly Lufthansa’s 747-8 service offered on the leg. Frankfurt-San Francisco.
He told the crowd: “When I realized I had to go to the West Coast for this event, there was only one way to travel. “Bring our 747-8 yesterday from Frankfurt to San Francisco to get here in style, on the nose of this amazing aircraft.”
He went on to explain the advantages of the plane.
“The customer experience is simply amazing, on every version, in every aspect, when you fly a 747,” he said. “Passengers love it. The crew loved it. And by the way, the people watching (the plane) also love it because – especially the 747-8 – it is so beautiful.”
Then came the obvious tease about the possibility of updating the cabin for the plane.
“That’s why we at Lufthansa are currently looking at another upgrade of the 747-8 in all classes to fly this amazing aircraft over the next decade, including amazing first class in nose,” he shared.
Nod to ‘Father of 747’
The final 747 for Atlas Air was delivered with an image on the fuselage in honor of the late Joe Sutter.
Sutter was the chief engineer of the Boeing 747 program, leading many to call him the “Father of the 747.”
Sutter passed away in 2016, but members of his family were in the audience of the delivery event.
Flag parade
The farewell ceremony began with flag bearers marching flags with the logos of more than 100 airlines that had ordered 747s for Boeing.
The procession kicked off the event with a bit of glitz and then helped frame the Atlas Air 747 as it emerged behind the open hangar door.
When the event ended, some employees of the now defunct airlines went to find their former owner’s flag and took a photo.
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