FLYING INTO THE SUNSET
The end on an era: BA’S last two Heathrow-based Boeing 747s take to the skies for their final flight
THEY are known as the “Queen of the Skies” and in half a century have transported 3.5 billion passengers and billions of tons of cargo around the planet.
But 50 years of aviation history ended yesterday as the last British Airways jumbo jets left
London Heathrow Airport, with two 747-400 aircraft taking off before heading to scrapyards.
The G-CIVB and G-CIVY 747 models had been due to perform a synchronised dual take-off on parallel runways, but instead departed from the same runway separately due to poor weather conditions.
BA, which had warned the dual runway take off was weather dependent, said the G-CIVB entered service in 1994 and had flown 59 million miles, while G-CIVY had clocked-up 45 million air miles having first flown in 1998.
The sad end for the iconic planes was witnessed by BA staff and engineers who lined up to see them off at 8.35am, with more than 18,000 people watching a live-stream of the event on BA’S Facebook page.
The Civil Aviation Authority granted special permission for one of the jets to fly over Heathrow at 600ft in a poignant farewell to the airport before they head on to St Athan in South Wales and Cotswold Airport.
Versions of the 345-seat four-engine aircraft have been in service with BA since 1971 until the airline announced in July it was to scrap its fleet of 31 747s following a collapse in passenger numbers during the pandemic.
BA bosses were thought to have discussed the possibility of a low-altitude flyover of a British landmark to mark the final flight.
Senior first officer Lyndsay Mcgregor, with BA, said: “The
747 was truly fantastic to fly.
There was no greater feeling than the power of the four Rolls Royce engines spooling up as we took off.”
Although the aircraft are loved by frequent fliers and the wider public, they are notoriously inefficient compared with newer jets such as the 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350.
Few aeroplanes are as recognisable as the 747, but now it has become a symbolic victim of the crisis facing the aviation industry as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
A top speed of just over 650mph makes the jumbo the fastest commercial plane on the planet.
Landing a 747 at Heathrow costs more than £13,000, of which nearly £4,000 is in environmental tariffs.
BA’S first 747-400 – the variant most commonly in use today – was delivered in June, 1989. It flew until 2018, when it was sent to a scrapyard in California.
The two aircraft will be flying to Kemble in Gloucestershire and St Athan airfield in south Wales, BA said. BA senior first officer Mark Vanhoenacker said it had been his “childhood dream” to fly the 747. “The 747 was a joy to fly.
“It was a very large airplane, of course, but it didn’t feel like it – it felt very responsive and manoeuvrable,” he said.
“The plane was so distinctive. It’s a beautiful design, a classic like Concorde, and I often think the upper deck made the 747 look more birdlike.
“Whenever I saw one waiting through the glass of a terminal I couldn’t believe that my childhood dream of flying one had come true.”
Launched in 1969, the 747-400 aircraft were considerably larger than existing airliners, with a capacity of around 550 passengers.
They were known by British Airways as The Queen Of The Skies and the airline once boasted the world’s largest fleet of the 747-400 model with 31 aircraft. The 747 fleet is to be replaced by quieter, more fuelefficient aircraft as part of the airline’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The airline expects the last 747s, currently positioned in Wales, to leave the fleet by the end of the year.
Pete Glass, an air traffic control manager at Heathrow, said: “Saying goodbye has evoked mixed emotions for those of us with a great deal of fondness for the Queen of the Skies. It may have been superseded by other aircraft, but she will always be special with her iconic look.”
Mr Glass, who works for the air navigation service provider Nats, added: “And as an air traffic controller at Nats, we have never got bored of watching it roll down the runway.”