My last 747 flight was February 2019. I was flying on Eva from Saigon to Taipei.

I was expecting a 777 or A330, when to my pleasant surprise, the distinctive nose of a 744 showed up at the lounge window! :)

Dispatch reliability of the 747-400 was horrid at EIS - something around 80% for the first year. Much having to do with software issues - nuisance maintenance faults and the Central Maintenance Computer (CMC) was a mess. Boeing spent a fortune doing what we called "Block Software Changes" to get the -400 straightened out - EICAS, CMC, FMC, you name it. One of the EICAS updates required a hardware change to go with it - Northwest (the -400 launch customer) didn't want to spend money on the new h/w - so the FAA AD'ed it to make them upgrade (which ended up being a royal pain -every EICAS update after that needed to get an alternate method of compliance because the AD called a specific EICAS s/w version.
That being said, BA came along about a year after EIS (they were the launch Rolls customer) - a lot of the aircraft issues had been straightened out by then, but the RB211 engine control (FAFC) was a mess especially early on.

Manila to Cebu, less than one hour with Philippine Airlines B747.
Business. Welcome drink and towel, aperitiff, three course meal with wines for each, then coffee and Cognag and a scotch on the rocks in my hand as we landed.
Well done cabin crew and all done with a smile and a friendly chat with our kids.
Whole family, all three generation, duly impressed.
Per

Hi tdracer, I think you will find Cathay Pacific was the launch customer for the RR 747-400 not BA. RT451 was the main RR powered certification airframe and became VR-HOO on delivery to CX. RT452 was also used in certifying the RR powered variant and was the first RR powered 747-400 delivered to CX as VR-HOP in mid 1989.

London - Sydney QF 400. Bangkok was the Qantas slip at that time. Business class, top deck. I was the only passenger up there.

Crew who got on in Bangkok were in a worse state than the crew who got off - they'd been partying (in Patpong?), and were wrecked.

After takeoff the Steward came and said "this is how it's going to work. I'll serve breakfast, but then I need a snooze. When you've finished breakfast, let me know what you'd like to drink, and I'll bring you a case of it. Then after I've had a little snooze, you can have anything you like. OK with you sir?"

Sure enough, after breakfast I asked for a Drambuie, and he came back with a dozen...

I think I’d have asked to deplane prior to departure. Hard to expect the crew to be capable of safe duty performance.

He was flying a five engine Boeing, well, six really, counting the little one in the tail. ;)


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d0d257e85.jpeg

Washington Dulles Airport 1986
 

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....86a5c01cab.jpg

Washington Dulles Airport 1986
from https://ourplnt.com/space-shuttle-boeing-747-concorde/

Mistake. The new planes aren't big enough. I've flown 747 with 600 people on board. Routinely. In the Middle East, Asia, hajjing and what not, carrying big numbers, you need that capability.

Plus, just looking at the delay with the 777x, has the big twin concept maybe got past the point of diminishing returns?

Plus, this business of taking twins over the North Pole and down into Antarctica is going to end in tears sooner or later.

The beancounters will soon realise they can cut 50% from engine maintenance costs by going single engine and halving the probability of an engine issue disrupting schedule, all synchronous with a single pilot policy of course.

Some nice 'home video' footage from a Pan Am LHR-LAX flight. 747-121.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6_iwIso4zY

Holy moly...I wasn't sure it was going to lift off.
Then I wasn't sure it was going to climb.

Interesting comments from the video source :I kinda thought it may have gained more height by the end of the long flight, but what would I know?

You could build a 1000-seat aircraft and there would be some routes and some times of day/year where you could fill it.

But that's not a reason for building one.

tdracer/CV880

Many thanks for the replies upthread...FWIW EIS was in it's later stages when I joined the BA 744 fleet and don't recall too much drama, hence my original question.

With all the transpacific supply needs coming up creating the next military transport would be warranted. Like maybe a blended wing body. Hopefully this will enable a commercial sibling like the 747 again. Megacity growth seems to indicate that there will be a future need for very big aircraft however not right at this time now.

Amazing what one forgets. Back in 1978 whilst working at ANA I had the opportunity to travel between Tokyo and Osaka on a JAL 747 100 SR which had around 550 seats IIRC
(Another one to add to the list too)

I was only able fly fly a single leg in a 747. Mostly due to living near the American Airlines mega hub at DFW and being a heavy user of AA.

Late May of 2002, I flew a BA from Heathrow to Changi in Singapore, business class. Departed, if I recall correctly at 10pm and arrived around 6pm in Singapore.
My first experience with BA and it was excellent. Had a nice dinner and was soon asleep and logged 8 hours of uninterrupted shut-eye.
That leg filled in my dance card for nearly every Boeing aircraft except for the 717 (added later in Hawaii)

Now only need to find a 787 leg.

That May of 2002 trip was a one of a kind trip for work. Three weeks long, business class, once around the world to the right. DFW-LHR (AA) , LHR-SIN, SIN-NRT (Japan Airlines MD-11) and NRT-DFW (AA). The MD-11 leg was my first and only MD-11 experience. (Very nice)

Wish I had flown a few more times in a 747.

List of my B747 flights:

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Japan Airlines
3. Qantas
4. United
5. ANA
6. Cathay
7. Thai
8. Air Lanka
9. Air Mauritius
10. Lufthansa

tab28682

Sounds about right...after the transit stop the aircraft then used to carry on overnight for a early breakfast time arrival in Sydney.

Flight deck visit on a 747/200. Asked what it was like to fly something so large. Reply. 'Well, easy really!. We just fly this little bit at the front and hope the rest follows!!.'

Meanwhile, the parting out of a 747-8 BBJ commences. What a sad end to a magnificent airplane.

Boeing 747-8 BBJ Parting Out

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....cf81d4cf40.jpg