As Qantas prepares to retire their Boeing 747-400 aircraft, a limited number of farewell flights will take place. Each one-hour joy flight will take in each city’s skyline and complete a low-level flyby. For many, this is a final opportunity to fly on the ‘Queen of the Skies’.
We have collaborated with a number of lucky passengers and pilots to show you the Qantas Special B747 Farewell flight experience.
Pre-Flight
Prior to departure, QF747 passengers gathered in the Sydney Qantas lounge for morning tea. Here, Qantas pilots and veteran B747 passengers shared stories of their memories on this iconic aircraft.
Each passenger was given a gift bag, featuring a small amenity kit and a Qantas 747 cap, amongst other collector items.
Farewell Flight
VH-OEJ lifted off from Sydney’s Runway 16R at 10:36 local time. It landed on the same runway at 11:37 local time, after a flight time of 1 hour and 1 minute.
- Made a right-turn and executed a downwind departure towards Sydney Harbour (tracking 357° and then 98°)
- Completed two low-level “Left Harbour Orbits”
- Flew up the New South Wales Central Coast
- Flew over the Marramarra National Park, before tracking back to Sydney from the North-West
- Made a single pass over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, whilst making a gentle right-turn
- Flew a large circuit over Campbelltown and Camden, before tracking North-East beside Stanwell Tops
- Flew the scenic Runway 16R approach, taking in Sydney Harbour from the Western reaches (overhead Woolwich and Drummoyne)
QF747 Inflight Experience
Qantas sold a mere 160 Economy Class tickets for the flight, each priced at AU$400 ($278). In addition, Qantas sold a “limited number” of Business Class seats, priced at AU$747 ($519). No upper-deck seats were sold on QF747. Tickets went on sale on 8th July and sold out very shortly after.
A light lunch was served on-board and passengers were treated to exquisite views in accompaniment.
Towards the end of the flight, passengers were provided with a certificate detailing the flight (pictured below).
機体記号は #vhoej . pic.twitter.com/yVdtBhbfIN
— 神楽坂あさこ🏳️🌈 (@AsakoKagurazaka) July 13, 2020
Upon landing, VH-OEJ received a water cannon salute from Airservices Australia and there was a Guard of Honour waiting in the terminal.
Future of VH-OEJ
Qantas will donate the profits from QF747 joy flights to the Qantas Founders Museum (Longreach, QLD) and the Historical Aviation Restoration Society (Albion Park, NSW) to preserve and promote the legacy of the B747. Both these museums already have a Qantas 747 on display.
Qantas recently announced the immediate retirement of all remaining B747-400 aircraft, due to the COVID-19 pandemic; unfortunately, VH-OEJ will not be spared. Qantas will fly the aircraft to Los Angeles on 22nd July and then to Mojave for retirement.
Feature Image: Courtesy of Qantas B747 Captain Owen Zupp. Other Images: The Airline Show on Twitter
QUANTAS 747 is looking really good. Business seating is looking very luxurious. Providing this one hour journey is wonderful.
I flew the Qantas B747- 400 Queen of the Sky from 2004 to 2012, typically twice a year while I lived and worked in Australia. In 2013, I switched to the Qantas Airbus 380 route DFW to SYD nonstop, and flew 4 times thru Jan 2015. I am a huge Qantas fan – such a great airline !!!!
☺️☺️☺️☺️👍👍👍👍 Gary W Smith, PE, Australian Perm Resident & I call Australia second home !!!!
They sold seats on the upper deck to Platinum One Qantas frequent flyers. I got one.
So sad to see them go. Had many flights to and from Asia and Europe on these birds – mostly B747-400’s, but a couple on B747-300’s – between 1992 and my retirement in 2017. Heaps and heaps of memories, not the least of which were quite a number of visits to the flight deck in the pre-9/11 days; flying in the “middle seat” over Bali till we were well and truly “feet dry” over the Kimberly coast; landing in Frankfurt one clear winter morning to a bevy of flashguns – I hadn’t seen the outside of the aircraft when i boarded, but the Captain told me we were on “Wunala Dreaming”; passing across north India on our way from LHR to SIN and seeing 1,600 kms of snow-covered peaks – the Himalayas – off to our left; and most memorable was sitting In the jump set behind the Captain late one evening as we took off at maximum take-off weight on a wet runway just to encounter a thunderstorm right in front of us. That’s when I found out all about Cockpit Resource Management, taking priority over air traffic control to ensure the safety of the aircraft and the souls on board, St Elmo’s fire, and when we emerged in front of the storm line into clear air with a carpet of stars above somewhere over east Austria the Captain proceeded to give me and the rest of his crew a geography lesson as he pointed out city after city and country after country just by the patterns of street lights showing far below. Pure magic!
I was on the Brisbane flight just a day after, was an amazing experience to be on, so glad you enjoyed it and an amazing chance to be on the last 747 flights before its retirement.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! If you have any photos, feel free to share
Cool ! If Qantas wants to make some more money $, all they have to do is make some more of those 747 hats for sale to general public. I definitely want one.
QUANTAS 747 is looking really good. Business seating is looking very luxurious. Providing this one hour journey is wonderful.