QF7474. Farewell to the Qantas Queen of the Skies. (Part 2)

BEST LAID PLANS

The retirement of the Boeing 747 from the QANTAS ranks was inevitable. While it was still loved by the travelling public and its crews alike, its generation was being replaced by the efficiency of the dawn of newer twin-jets, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350. QANTAS’s ambitious ‘Project Sunrise’ had made its first appearance above the horizon, aspiring to non-stop flights of a duration that was even beyond the commercial reach of the 747-400ER. The time had come for the 747 to exit with grace.

The retirement of an aircraft fleet is a complex, staged process. For the QANTAS 747s, it meant a gradual reduction of the network it was flying as the aircraft were progressively flown to the US where they would be retired to a boneyard and sourced for their well-maintained and increasingly scarce components. Or in the case of the airline’s 747-400 VH-OJU, rebirthed as an engine test-bed for Rolls Royce.

Concurrently, the number of crew would be reduced and retrained, and assigned to other fleets until the final airframe’s departure would see the last pilots relocated through a reduction-in-number, or RIN process.

The plan was in place about a final hurrah in March 2021, offering the 747 for one final season of memorable Antarctica charters and adding the symmetry of 50 years of service from 1971–2021. A full schedule of events marking the longevity and loyal service of the 747 in QANTAS colours was in the planning when the global pandemic cancelled the parade.

With the initial outbreak, the remaining fleet was removed from service on an accelerated timeframe and ferried to the Mojave Desert. In the first instance, this repositioning was for storage but, with every passing week and then month, the chance of the 747 ever returning to service diminished rapidly. The final arrivals of aircraft were greeted by news coverage as media and public sense of the end grew.

At the same time, the crew of the final flight had been selected and called to the simulator to confirm currency and proficiency. This included those pilots that would occupy the control seats for the last, unfamiliar sector into the boneyard at the Mojave Air and Space Port, about 140km north of Los Angeles.

One by one, the QANTAS 747 fleet departed Australian shores, all keenly tracked by aviation enthusiasts around the world. By late June, only the 747-400ER, VH-OEJ Wunala remained on Australian soil. Speculation began to grow in the media about the final departure date with a growing sentiment of regret that the last QANTAS 747 would ‘go gently into that good night’.

With the airline in its centenary year and recognising the significance of the final flight, QANTAS Manager of Fleet Operations – Boeing 747, Captain Owen Weaver – successfully sought a stay of execution for the aircraft to provide a more fitting send-off. The concept was embraced by the Executive Team led by QANTAS International CEO Tino La Spina, although time was running short and there remained the constant spectre of closed borders preventing any crew from easily returning to Australia.

On June 25, the rumours were confirmed as part of the major QANTAS announcement outlining its future in the face of COVID: the remaining Boeing 747s were to be retired immediately. Soon after, the airline announced three farewell flights and a final departure to be remembered. The wheels were set in motion.

FOND FAREWELLS

In so many ways, the 747 was the peoples’ aeroplane. It had opened up the world to Australians on a previously unknown scale, through memories of amazing holidays and emotional family reunions. If there was a poignant moment in an Australian life beyond her shores, the chance was great that the 747 had made that possible. With this in mind, QANTAS wanted to share the moment with the people, albeit with strict COVID-19 protocols in place.

A plan was drafted with one each of the farewell flights departing Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. But with the tenuous state of its borders and public health situation, the first casualty was the Melbourne flight which had to be moved to Canberra.

With the harsh reality of costs hitting all airlines, the flights were brought to life through a skeleton of staff being stood up from their relative hibernation to attend to every issue from media relations, to engineering, flight planning, crewing, and so much more. Even assigning the flight number of QF747 presented a significant challenge within the airline’s IT systems. However, it soon became apparent that the flights meant a great deal to staff and the QANTAS family came together to make the event happen.

A lottery system was devised to allow some of that family to gain a seat on their airline’s final 747 flights, while other seats were sold online to offset some of the costs involved and raise funds for two aviation museums. The demand far outweighed availability, and the tickets sold in minutes. A good many more flights could have been sold, but the timeframe was already in place.

Each of the three flights was blessed by clear skies. The atmosphere was festive, although tinged with emotion as passengers gathered in gate lounges and exchanged memories of the ‘Queen of the Skies’. Past employees in retro uniforms, aviation enthusiasts and current crew mingled and posed for photos. Commemorative QANTAS bags and memorabilia were a treasured part of the experience, but the flights would prove to be the ultimate memory.

Socially-distanced and COVID-conscious, passengers boarded their flights, seen off by pilots offering hand sanitiser in a subtle but visible reminder of aviation and the world’s current concerns. But those concerns quickly melted away each time that the 747 pushed back and took to the skies. Over Sydney, the harbour swept by beneath, while Brisbane’s skyline and coastline provided a stark contrast to the snow-capped ranges and circular roadways of the nation’s capital.

Onboard, conversation and champagne flowed, while landings were met with applause, and disembarkations with tears. To conclude each event, the crowds gathered beneath her swept wings and towering tailplane for a final photograph, or simply to take in her graceful form in their mind’s eye. Still, the ‘Queen of the Skies’ had one more statement to make and those plans were underway beneath a veil of secrecy…..and had been for some time.