KLM final flight B747

[tintintin]

Today KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operated its final Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet passenger flight KL686 from Mexico City to Amsterdam Schiphol.
PH-BFT City of Tokyo was the last KLM B747-4 on duty
They have been phasing out and retiring their 747s. Another sad news for the real Queen of the Sky.
Give this plane a great tribute
https://www.airliners.net/photo/KLM-...-406/5948203/L

[Pilot DAR]

I'll miss them! Several Atlantic crossings a year, upstairs business class was the best way to go!

[SpringHeeledJack]

KLm, Qantas, ??? the old lady of the skies is flying into the sunset. How much longer will KLM keep the freighters flying ?

[BEA 71]

Will miss her too. She was a jewel in the Bavarian skies. Weather permitting I saw her frequently, always at the same time,
you could set your watch..

BEA 71

[SMT Member]

The 747 will live on for many, many years still. In the role she was originally designed for to boot, rather than the degrading existence of shovelling ungrateful punters between continents.

[matkat]

I flew on one (C class) from AMS-ICN last December as much affection as I have the old girl unfortunately no longer fit for purpose, sorry to see them go but preferred the B787 also on C class last year. Similar thoughts about the B744 MIA-LHR also last year.

[Phantom Driver]

Seat 1A , on main deck SQ Jumbo ; only way to travel in them days . (also staff travel best ever) . Cabin crew brief ? Your glass shall never be empty .

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by Phantom Driver

Seat 1A , on main deck SQ Jumbo ; only way to travel in them days .

And from seat 1A you could see down the runway. However, on SQ I preferred to be further back to see the girls.

Originally Posted by Phantom Driver

Cabin crew brief ? Your glass shall never be empty .

Wasn't the first class champagne on SQ either Dom Perignon or Krug?

[BRE]

Originally Posted by matkat

I flew on one (C class) from AMS-ICN last December as much affection as I have the old girl unfortunately no longer fit for purpose, sorry to see them go but preferred the B787 also on C class last year. Similar thoughts about the B744 MIA-LHR also last year.

What makes her "no longer fit for the purpose" from a pax perspective? The 787 is even noisier on the inside, in my impression.

[Mr Mac]

Airbubba
DP as with EK , hic !.

Kind regards
Mr Mac

[BRUpax]

I made quite a number of C class flights on KLM 747s. The first row window seats (main cabin) were also my favourite seats, but so they were for many other regulars too. So they were not always mine for the taking! The top deck was not for me as the dimensions of the storage bins next to the window seat were too limiting for my needs.

[Groundloop]

Originally Posted by SMT Member

The 747 will live on for many, many years still. In the role she was originally designed for to boot, rather than the degrading existence of shovelling ungrateful punters between continents.

If you mean as a freighter, that is not what it was originally designed for. Juan Trippe of Pan Am wanted a large capacity passenger airliner and Boeing built it for him. True that they used a lot of the work originally put in to Boeing's failed bid for the USAF C5 competition - but the 747 was significantly different from that.

[procede]

Originally Posted by Groundloop

True that they used a lot of the work originally put in to Boeing's failed bid for the USAF C5 competition - but the 747 was significantly different from that.

The only reason the flight deck is on the upper deck, is so that it can have a door in the nose for the main deck. I think that is the most significant part of the 747 design.

[esa-aardvark]

Originally Posted by Airbubba

And from seat 1A you could see down the runway. However, on SQ I preferred to be further back to see the girls.



Wasn't the first class champagne on SQ either Dom Perignon or Krug?

When I flew the steward remark was - we'll finish the Dom Perignon and then start on the Krug.
Will those days ever return ?

[MarkerInbound]

Originally Posted by BRE

What makes her "no longer fit for the purpose" from a pax perspective? The 787 is even noisier on the inside, in my impression.

The market has grown. You don’t have 380 PAX going JFK-LHR and then 50 connect to Rome and 80 connect to Paris and 70 go to FRA and 50 to Stockholm and 70 to Madrid. The airlines today (well, last month) can get 270 people who want to go to each of those destinations direct from JFK. Same out of any major hub. Plus the operating cost of 4 engines v. 2.

[procede]

Originally Posted by MarkerInbound

The market has grown. You don’t have 380 PAX going JFK-LHR and then 50 connect to Rome and 80 connect to Paris and 70 go to FRA and 50 to Stockholm and 70 to Madrid. The airlines today (well, last month) can get 270 people who want to go to each of those destinations direct from JFK. Same out of any major hub. Plus the operating cost of 4 engines v. 2.

Not really, Hub and spoke is still alive and kicking, and even more hubs have emerged and are connected.
The truth is that high density seating (3-4-3) now makes airlines able to fit the same amount of passengers and even more cargo into a 777-300, which is much more fuel efficient.

[Phantom Driver]

Originally Posted by Airbubba

Wasn't the first class champagne on SQ either Dom Perignon or Krug?

​​​​​​Yes indeed .The good thing about SQ in those days was no restrictions on deadheading crew (i.e off duty ) . You boarded before the pax , generally got F or J if available ( and F/O often upgraded with the Capt ) . Once on board , the first thing you did was change out of uniform and get stuck into the Dom or Krug , as you preferred .

As I fondly recall , the hosty insisted I alone polish off two bottles of DP on a dhd SIN-LHR . Slept well . Happy days on the Jumbo fleet .

Sadly , these protocols were somewhat different on certain ME airlines ; dhd ORD- DOH in Y with only orange juice for sustenance ; not nice....

[Phantom Driver]

Singapore Girl, always a " Great way to Fly " . A pity such ads now consigned to the dustbins of history by the PC/ me too - brigade .
( apologies for the thread drift , but it is synonymous with the 747 era . Who remembers the Braniff 747 girls uniform ? See you on Jet Blast !).

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by Phantom Driver

Who remembers the Braniff 747 girls uniform ?

Braniff indeed tied the Emilio Pucci uniforms to its 747 service in the ad campaigns.

[Pugilistic Animus]

Braniff seems to have flown everything including Concorde