What's your favourite 747 memory?

[Mattg]

On Tuesday, the very last Qantas Boeing 747 will leave the airline's fleet and be flown to the U.S. to be retired.

Qantas has had multiple different variations of the iconic aircraft in its fleet since 1971. Although the current circumstances mean the 747 won't get the send-off it deserves, that's quite an achievement. This is an aircraft that changed the way we travel for the better.

I'm sure most of us have flown on a 747 at least once, and for some, perhaps many times. It got me wondering: What's your favourite 747 memory - be it a 747 in Qantas colours or otherwise?

 

[Mattg]

I'll start - and sorry, I think I will have to pick a couple of different memories of the queen of the skies.

One of my earliest memories as a small child is boarding a SYD-AKL flight. As we walked onto the plane, I noticed there was this fancy staircase leading to the upper deck. I wanted to explore upstairs, but one of my parents told me that it was only for rich people and we kept walking to the back of economy.

For years, I thought I'd never be able to fly on the upper deck of a 747. Finally, last year, I had an opportunity to do it (and not because I'm rich at all - I just know now how to use frequent flyer points effectively). I relished every bit of that experience!

My other 747 memory is my first trip to Europe as a 17-year old, which was also my first big solo international trip. I had begged my parents for months to let me go to Germany on exchange, and was so excited when they finally said yes. I flew with Qantas on a 747 from Sydney to Frankfurt (with a stop in Singapore), and associate that trip with so many happy memories.

 

[flyingfan]

Probably flying LHR-HKG-MEL on a FASA I don't have an especially victorious or heartbreaking story about a QF 747 so that'll have to do for me

 

[NickCorr]

Lucky enough many years ago to fly MEL - LHR via HKG. Asked about extra legroom at check in and was told yes we can do that for you. Exit row okay? Was handed the boarding pass and noticed it was business class upstairs!! Is this correct, I ask, yes we have a bus load of HK ladies and have moved some of our gold flyers up to business to make space!! Awesome flight and service. Never felt so good walking through LHR. Even popped into the office that day.

And Flight Tracker says 53 Jumbo Jet sectors for me...

 

[RooFlyer]

I was in 1A, sold as business IIRC ... (and this many years before I joined AFF early 1990s) ... returning home from my very first international work trip to Europe, from LHR to SIN.

It was night, moonless and very clear; the flight totally smooth; the cabin was in darkness, and very quiet.

I looked out the window and after checking with the flight map, I realised we were flying right over Moscow. The Cold War was over, but Russia was still a bit of a mystery. A huge city, I could make out the centre of it as we glided silently across the metropolis. I thought of all the malevolence that had/was going on down there and what would happen if a few missiles started flying just then.

I also liked the fact that you could see out both sides of the aircraft from your seat.

Flight tracker tells me I have had 106 sectors in a 747!!

 

[Bell21]

Hopefully, I'm not getting confused, but I think the 747 used to fly the 2nd leg of the 'direct flight' SYD-JFK? (ie, the LAX-JFK leg). In the early days of getting into 'the hobby', when I used to fly Y, I loved the way the plane had about 4 or 5 rows of 2 window seats at the back of the plane, as it created a fair bit of extra room and comfort for Y travellers (and they didn't seem too hard to get), especially if you had no one sitting next to you. After the 14 hours in Y to get to LAX, it was a bit of a welcome relief.

 

[Archphoto]

My very first overseas flight as a 7-year-old, was on a Qantas 747 in the Retro Roo livery. It was 1977 so they were relatively new aircraft back then; I'll will never forget being taken to the coughpit as it flew from PER-LHR, and sitting in the First Officer's seat as a lightning storm cracked around us. It was AWESOME!!!!

I grew up flying on the Queen of the Skies with many airlines, but Red Roo holds a very special place in my heart: she was my very first 747 carrier in 1977 PER-LHR and my very last in 2014 SYD-BKK. I will definitely miss her.

 

[Kendall Roy]

My first ever long haul trip (and only 2nd time OS) was MEL-HKG-LHR QF29 in J (14A - exit row).

Despite clocking up over 500+ QF flights over the past 10 years, this one still stands out in my Top 3 across all airlines.

Kids of tomorrow will miss on what were the glory days of flying in large quads.

 

[Major]

My 1st 747 flight was in 1971 on a Pan-Am 747 SP from SYD-NAN. Can't remember much about it but I was down the back somewhere.

 

[DeKa]

I have two great memories.
The first was flying from Sydney to Melbourne in seat 1A in the early 2000s to have dinner with some friends on a points redemption. I can’t remember why I decided to do that.

The second memory is flying to Japan (Narita I think) in Business upstairs in 2015 or 2016. An amazing cabin (rattles and all) and I see why it was so revered.

 

[cambriamarsh]

With SWMBO on a points flight SYD SIN in Y, beep at the gate, 2 in J upstairs, then swapping with a couple of KPMG consultants so we could sit together. A great start to a break and first time in J on a 747.

 

[747sp]

I have a nice little story about a crew member on a 747 at London Heathrow in 1975 . My sister and I were about 14 and 10 and we were on a Qantas 747 in the middle of winter and it was raining and really foggy . We were delayed by the weather but we did not know that. So my sister asked why we were delayed and the flight attendant said we had a flat battery and they were just moving another jumbo over to us to give us a jump start.

 

[craven morehead]

My very last 747 flight QF64 JNB - SYD June 2019 boarding from the tarmac one gets to really appreciate the size of these magnificent planes.

 

[kpc]

Sitting upstairs for the 1st time. Sadly I thought I would have 1 more opportunity to fly the 747 as I'm booked on a 747 from SYD-Jnb in Nov and have selected a seat upstairs.

 

[jakeseven7]

Arriving at JFK and seeing it lined up to get me out of the hole that is the US
Always felt like a ray on sunshine in dark place helping me escape.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Nice thread!

Some memories that come to mind for me...

• LHR-BRU on a packed SQ 747. In keeping with SQ's service standards they offered a full snack in economy, Danish open-face sarnies with tea and coffee. But unlike SQ service standards they collected used trays and cups using large black rubbish bags in the cabin!
• being given a full set of 'Clipper Firsts' menus on a Pan Am SP MEL-AKL: Vintage Pan Am Historic First Flights Clipper Class Menus Set of 12 RARE | #1787844695
• first ever upper deck take-off, on a SYD-MEL tag flight, on a new QF Longreach.
• after living in China for 8 months, flying QF HKG-MEL - I think I ate every western option on the menu!
• my first flight on a 748 - just a beautiful aircraft!
• the 'never would be allowed to happen today": as a small kid, sitting with my legs dangling through the orange barrier straps of an open door at a midnight refueling stop in Dubai (it really was just an empty airfield in those days)
• another 'never would be allowed today' - sitting by an exit while taxiing for take-off for the cabin crew to discover the door wasn't closed properly. The purser came down, called the coughpit and explained he was going to 'put the door half open' in an attempt to close it properly.... which he did. I remember seeing the blue taxi-way lights flashing by at a rate of knots!
• most unusual: a hard, heavy landing, *allegedly* touching down before the runway. The mess in the cabin! Many of the service carts had been thrown loose and were lying strewn across the galley floors at all angles... there was liquid everywhere seeping down the aisles from the carts. Don't know what happened to the plane! (no instant news in those days!)
• oh, and the ‘forward’ view!

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

BNE - SYD dom pax int flight. J.
PER - SYD dom pax dom flight. Y

 

[NSun]

My two best memories are the only two times I flew upstairs.
1. In 2001 SYD-HKG as a 6 year old joining my father on an overseas business trip.
2. Last year, flying SCL-SYD for the only time to date, flying 74 degrees south.

There was one other time I flew upstairs on a 747, SIN-SYD with Singapore Airlines in the late 2000s and we got an "op-up" once onboard.

 

[Blackswan]

A few memories for me;

• My first ever J trip from PER-SYD on the 747-300.
• My first ever overseas trip to LAX on the 747
• A very empty Y cabin from LAX-JFK
• PER-SAW-PER. Flew on the direct Instanbul service for the 100 year anniversary of the Gallipoli landing. Even though I was using it as a springboard for a quick Europe trip (I didn't stay in Turkey for ANZAC day) - it was a very special atmosphere onboard, with a water cannon salute upon arrival.

 

[kookaburra75]

I've had a more than a few flights over the years in 747's, although all but one was down in Y, jammed into middle seats. No issues with the flights on QF, BA, SQ and AA - just long haul to and from the US, SIN, HKG and the UK (via HKG). There were also two flights from PER-SYD on the domestic run, which the kids enjoyed.

The one where I was up on top was on Ansett, to AKL. The organisation I worked for said I could fly to a function in Auckland as long as I used points to book. And the only points seats available were in J - so I was up in the top section with only one other passenger. Sadly, it wasn't a long flight.