‘An icon, a game changer’: This is how to say goodbye to a plane
The airline is retiring the legendary aircraft with a ‘retro trip’ from San Francisco to Honolulu that sold out in less than two hours.
For United Airlines of the USA, it is finally time to bid goodbye to the Boeing 747 aircraft – the jumbo jet as it has often been called. This big, beautiful bird, who has appeared in several Hollywood films, including Air Force One, Executive Decision and Die Hard 2, has left behind a timeless legacy, as is seen in this fitting tribute (above) paid by the customers and employees of United Airlines.
The video is testimonial to the aircraft that transformed air travel. They describe it as “the original Friend Ship”. For pilots and in flight crew alike, it has been a matter of huge pride to serve on a 747. United CEO Oscar Munoz explains: “It really was the brass ring of sorts, and the apex of a lot of people’s careers.”
Since it was presented to the public nearly 50 years ago, the 747 has been revered as “one of the great engineering marvels of our time.” Aboard its maiden flight from San Francisco to Honolulu in July 1970, there was a spiral staircase to go from one level to another.
The 747 is the only aircraft to have carried five US Presidents, a space shuttle on its back, and an airborne observatory for NASA.
United Airlines plans to mark the end of this era on November 7 with a bittersweet retro trip from San Francisco to Honolulu, a flight that reportedly sold out in less than two hours.