End of an era

[tater]

@mikegarrison

 

Didn't want to derail a thread like X-37, or CST-100, or Virgin, or Pegasus, or SOFIA... so many related threads to this incredible aircraft.

Sad day (meanwhile, the B-52K will still be flying after all of us are dead).

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

I used to see 747 all the time.  You just don't very often these days.  

They were once so ubiquitous that when it was time to leave for school - we'd call it 'airplane time' (7:47).

My son finally saw one a few weeks ago... He was amazed.  It was only then that I realized that I hadn't seen one in years. 

[tater]

Last one I saw was AF-1. Was picking up a friend at the airport and she happened to land a few minutes before AF-1. I was wondering why there were so many cars at the observation parking (where I wait when someone is getting their bags, since we can't hardly slow down to pick people up at the gate any more)... saw a few pointing, then AF-1 flew over.

This was last month, BTW, lol.

[StrandedonEarth]

End of an era, indeed. When I can take a 737 variant from Vancouver to Cancun, a 747 does start to seem pointless. Yet flying Vancouver to Toronto in the early 80s, it was all 747 or DC-10 wide-bodies 

[TheSaint]

First plane I ever flew on was a 747. That was almost fifty years ago now.

[tater]

53 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

First plane I ever flew on was a 747. That was almost fifty years ago now.

I think I flew on 707s a few times, then a lot of 727s. First 747 might have been to Asia in the 80s.

[mikegarrison]

15 hours ago, tater said:

@mikegarrison

 

Didn't want to derail a thread like X-37, or CST-100, or Virgin, or Pegasus, or SOFIA... so many related threads to this incredible aircraft.

Sad day (meanwhile, the B-52K will still be flying after all of us are dead).

Well, it outlasted my time there. I retired  right after Thanksgiving.

[Nuke]

the hub and spoke model has been in decline for some time in favor of direct routes, so jumbo planes dont make a lot of sense for passenger travel. it does however seem to work out for cargo. fly between the hubs dump your cargo for ground transport. most of the 747s i see are cargo planes. turns out anchorage international is a huge cargo hub, so there are 747s everywhere up there. yet no domestic flight larger than a 737 goes through there.  alaska airlines doesn't have any wide body planes, and the delta terminal always seems empty, and there seems to be a rise in prop job service to some of the smaller communities. things might be different at the international terminal as wide body planes do better for long haul flights.

back when i was a teenager they decided to send me to my grandparents down in phoenix for the summer. united was still flying there and i got to fly on a dc-10, largest plane and most comfortable flight ive ever been on.  its sardine cans from here on out. 

Edited December 9, 2022 by Nuke

[kerbiloid]

Even warlocks flew in 747.

Spoiler

Edited December 9, 2022 by kerbiloid

[Ben J. Kerman]

I hate the time I was born, now most my favorite planes are being retired or are already retired. The  747, MD-11, L-1011, 727, Concorde, and MD-80, all either retired or rarely flying anymore. I really have to go planespotting soon before it's even more difficult to see a 747, I've never even seen one in real life, and I've never flown in any plane yet. I honestly cried a little when I heard KLM and BA retired their 747s. At least Lufthansa still flies them, for now.  

Edited December 9, 2022 by Ben J. Kerman

[Nuke]

my first flight was on a 727. i noticed in the last season of stranger things, they depicted '80s alaska airlines perfectly. right down to the flight attendant uniforms. that really impressed me. 

my first flight was actually on a helicopter, i was living in juneau at the time.  i dont recall the model, but they were giving away free 3-minute chopper rides for the 4th of july. then my 727 flight was later that year moving to anchorage. later on they had a lot of md-80s (not sure if that was alaska or another airline though, we had at least 3 major carriers back then). we just started getting the 737-900 model on my last juneau trip a few months ago. 

[SunlitZelkova]

On 12/9/2022 at 1:51 PM, Ben J. Kerman said:

I hate the time I was born, now most my favorite planes are being retired or are already retired. The  747, MD-11, L-1011, 727, Concorde, and MD-80, all either retired or rarely flying anymore. I really have to go planespotting soon before it's even more difficult to see a 747, I've never even seen one in real life, and I've never flown in any plane yet. I honestly cried a little when I heard KLM and BA retired their 747s. At least Lufthansa still flies them, for now.  

Good luck!