15 November, 2017

The 747 farewell tour from Delta


Gosh, there sure seems to be a lot of farewells in the aviation industry just lately, Brussel's RJ's, United's 747's  KLM's Fokker 70's,  Finnair's A340's to name but four.  And just as soon as your eyes are no longer watering and you've dried your hanky, along comes another one!   This time it is Delta that is saying 'so long and thanks for all the revenue' to their Queen of the Skies,  the 747-400's.

Yep, time to end the long run of the lovely lump, the jumbo, the big bird is rapidly coming to an end, but don't worry,  there is still time to see and perhaps take part in some of the last Delta 747 flights – which are, Delta tells us, the last to be flown by any US passenger airline. 

Here are Delta's seven key things to know about the final farewells.

Delta is operating the Boeing 747-400 on daily scheduled service between its Detroit hub and its partner hub at Seoul-Incheon.

Here are the final regularly scheduled flights of the Delta 747: 


Final U.S. departure: Flight 159 at Detroit to Seoul-Incheon at 12:31 p.m. on Dec. 15
Final Asia Pacific arrival: Flight 159 at Seoul-Incheon from Detroit at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 16
Final Asia Pacific departure: Flight 158 at Seoul-Incheon to Detroit at 11:15 a.m. on Dec. 17
Final U.S. arrival: Flight 158 at Detroit from Seoul-Incheon at 10:14 a.m. on Dec. 17

Delta will take the 747 on an employee farewell tour from Detroit to Seattle on Dec. 18, Seattle to Atlanta on Dec. 19 and Atlanta to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Dec. 20.

Customers can bid for a spot on these farewell flights via SkyMiles Experiences using their 
SkyMiles.

Employees and retirees can purchase a seat on these flights on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at noon ET Nov. 20 at a discounted rate, with all proceeds going to the Airloom Project, the organization behind the 747 Experience exhibit at the Delta Flight Museum.

The 747 will fly a handful of sports team and ad-hoc charter flights through Dec. 31.

Delta will fly its final 747 to its retirement place in Arizona in early January. This ferry flight will not be open to passengers.

Delta will be celebrating the iconic and revolutionary 747 throughout December in all of its channels and encourages customers, enthusiasts and employees to share their own tributes and remembrances using the #DL747Farewell hashtag. 

Oh the eyes are already feeling a little moist at the departure from the skies of the 747-400 from Delta airlines. The 747 held a special place in the heart of many an aviation enthusiast as well as traveller, it was a true game-changer, long before that expression was in common use! It undoubedly helped to introduce mass travel, lower fares and ensure air travel was within reach of more than just the rich.  It held a special place in the hearts of all, for its elegance and rugged reliability yet still managed to hold on to a touch of the romance of travel that seems so far removed from our more modern times and the technological wonders that take to the skies these days.  



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