I got a free flight in Australia and a polite letter, all for being prepared to de-plane, wait in a dark corner of LAX for 30 min while they found some buses, and be bussed out to what felt like "launch pad 39A for blast off", because the 747 was overweight and they felt they could taxi to the start of the runway and have less tire-cooling time if they got 40 of us off the seats.
Standing next to one of these birds on a runway and walking up a temporary ladder was a golden moment: I felt like I'd stepped back in time 20y when arrivals in Brisbane were to a giant Nissen hut and you deplaned on foot all the time. Wish I'd had a camera to snap those lights winking into the distance..