From the Friday Flyer
END OF AN ERA FOR THE B747-300 Tuesday 20 January will mark the end of an era for Qantas, with the last of the airline's serviceable B747-300s (VH-EBV) to depart Australia, bound for Marana in Arizona. The first Qantas B747-300 entered service in 1984, with a further five aircraft delivered through to May 1987. Since then, the fleet has accumulated more than 524,000 hours and more than 97,000 cycles. Following many years of international service, the fleet reverted to operating domestically. EBV will join EBW and EBY in Arizona, pending sale. EBT was sold in 2007, while EBX was sold late last year. The retirement of the fleet also means the end of another era – Qantas' use of Flight Engineers in the cockpit.