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They have been around a long time - over 50 years. In 1973, I sat in the Captains seat of the first 747 Combo model delivered (at the time my Dad worked with the now defunct World Airlines).
This makes me unbelievably sad. I grew up in Hong Kong and used to hang out at the airport observation deck (old Kai Tak) with my brother every Saturday, and probably half the planes landing were 747s from literally all over the world. They were as much fun to watch from the observation deck as they were to fly in as a passenger. They looked awkward but graceful all at the same time. Each time one would take off, it was like watching a physics-defying miracle in action.
My two favorite memories flying on a 747:
Flying from Hong Kong to Tokyo on a Cathay Pacific 747 and being taken up into the cockpit while 35,000+ feet up above the South China Sea. The view was absolutely breathtaking. My dad was a former airline engineer (Eastern) so he was able to explain a lot of the dizzying array of knobs and levers in the cockpit. The engineering that went into building that aircraft was more than most of us mortals could ever comprehend.
Flying from Singapore to Copenhagen on a Singapore Airlines 747, with stops in Colombo (Sri Lanka), Abu Dhabi, and Paris. Over 25 hours in all. At the time it seemed like we'd never get out of that plane, but I'd give a million dollars to do it all over again. It was such a magnificent aircraft, hardly ever felt any turbulence, and each landing was smooth as silk. And even though there were several hundred of us on that plane, we were all old friends by the time we got to Copenhagen.
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
Sort of a sad bit of irony that it was B-747 that helped mark end of Pan Am...
IIRC between deregulation (which exposed their lack of domestic routes among other things), and rising fuel prices flying those big and beautiful birds became an Achilles heel for Pan Am.
This makes me unbelievably sad. I grew up in Hong Kong and used to hang out at the airport observation deck (old Kai Tak) with my brother every Saturday, and probably half the planes landing were 747s from literally all over the world. They were as much fun to watch from the observation deck as they were to fly in as a passenger. They looked awkward but graceful all at the same time. Each time one would take off, it was like watching a physics-defying miracle in action.
My two favorite memories flying on a 747:
Flying from Hong Kong to Tokyo on a Cathay Pacific 747 and being taken up into the cockpit while 35,000+ feet up above the South China Sea. The view was absolutely breathtaking. My dad was a former airline engineer (Eastern) so he was able to explain a lot of the dizzying array of knobs and levers in the cockpit. The engineering that went into building that aircraft was more than most of us mortals could ever comprehend.
Flying from Singapore to Copenhagen on a Singapore Airlines 747, with stops in Colombo (Sri Lanka), Abu Dhabi, and Paris. Over 25 hours in all. At the time it seemed like we'd never get out of that plane, but I'd give a million dollars to do it all over again. It was such a magnificent aircraft, hardly ever felt any turbulence, and each landing was smooth as silk. And even though there were several hundred of us on that plane, we were all old friends by the time we got to Copenhagen.
There's something about glancing out passenger window of a B-747 landing at Kai Tak and seeing into apartment windows. You wonder to yourself how something so huge can land so close to apartment buildings.
If you want to know why the 747 is heading off into the sunset, here's the unglamorous answer:
Quote:
With limited data on the dual engine widebodies, it appears that the Boeing 767 costs around $9,130 per hour to operate, the 777 costs around $7,380 per hour, and the Airbus A330 costs around $7,900 per hour.
More engines lead to higher prices. The average airborne operating cost of a Boeing 747-400 is between $24,000 and $27,000 per hour, around $39.08 to $43.97 per mile, using approximately $15,374 in fuel per hour.
Consider that a 777-300 is not that much smaller than a 747-400 in terms of seating capacity. On British Airways, for example, the former seats 299 while the latter seats 345. Those extra 46 seats on the 747 don't come close to making up the extra $20,000 per hour or so that the plane costs to operate.
The 747 is a beautiful plane, and her place in the history of aviation is assured. But her time has come and gone.
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