Adieu, 747
Now comes news that the Boeing 747 airliner is being retired from service.
After half a century of serving humanity, Adieu cher 747.
As for me, I say, “Farewell seat 64A.” Oh, the memories of 64A — my favorite seat with unlimited legroom upstairs in the “penthouse” in the sky that had room for only 20 passengers. How many hours of pleasurable flying did I enjoy? How many books and newspapers did I read? How many movies did I have? How much writing did I accomplish?
It’s hard to tell with any certainty.
What I do know, however, is that the meals were always superb, the bar was excellent, and the few fellow passengers were, with rare exception, very civilized.
The first time I flew on a 747 was in the late 1980s, on a Pan Am flight from New York to London. The last time was on a British Airways flight from Cape Town to London in 2018. There were many pleasant hours in the penthouse between the first and the last flights.
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First Lady Pat Nixon christened Pan Am’s Boeing 747 on 15 January 1970 at Dulles International Airport, outside Washington, D.C. It first entered into service a week later, on 20 January. It was a preferred airliner for Atlas Air, Cargo Lux, Korean Air, and Lufthansa. Pan Am and British Airways followed in the numbers of 747s in their fleets.
More than 1,500 airliners had been delivered over half a century by the time it was retired from service in 2020.
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If you were fortunate enough to sit in seat 64A, then you felt like you were flying private instead of commercial. If you were eager to take your place in seat 64A, then we are kindred spirits.
And yet, that chapter in our lives now ends.
Boeing 747, I shall miss you.
