Farewell to an icon

 

I watched an interesting documentary on the BBC World News channel once, about how COVID has killed off the Queen of the Skies.  I found it sad to see row upon row of these wonderful airplanes sitting in a Nevada desert, waiting to be ripped to pieces and sold for scrap metal - and all because an unexpected virus raging across the world had changed everybody's travel requirements.  There were reminiscences from some of the original test pilots, crew from the maiden commercial flight (Pan Am from New York to London back in January 1970 - it was delayed by nearly 7 hours because of an engine fire!), and senior BA pilots (the original pilot who took delivery of then BOAC's first 747 and today's senior pilot who delivered the airline's last 747 to the scrap yard).  And of course, Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, a qualified 747 pilot who ferries the band around on world tours on it's very own Ed Force One liveried 747.  No-one had a bad word to say about the plane.

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In all my years travelling for business and pleasure I've only been on one a few times, but I have fond memories of each and every flight.

The first was back in 1973, the year after my dad passed away.  My uncle in Ottawa (my mum's younger brother) thought a trip to Canada would help with the grieving process my mum, my sister and I were going through - it did - so we travelled in late September.  We booked on British Caledonian, a now defunct UK airline that merged with BA in 1987.  Outbound from Gatwick we travelled on a cramped but still comfortable 707, sitting near the back because we could smoke and besides my sister had read that in the event of a crash passengers in the rear seats are more likely to survive.  It was the first time any of us had flown, and I loved it (my mum and sister were less convinced).  We had a great three weeks, enjoying a beautiful Canadian fall and visiting many of the tourist attractions in Ontario, notably the magnificent Niagara Falls.  

When we got a Toronto airport to fly home, I looked out of the window at the gate and saw no sign of a BCal 707.  Instead I saw a gleaming blue and white Wardair 747.  It turned out there had been two Toronto - Gatwick flights scheduled that night, both half empty, so as a cost saving the BCal flight had been merged with the Wardair one to (nearly) fill the bigger plane.  My mum and my sister were in a panic, terrified by the size of the plane and convinced we were all going to die - but I couldn't wait to get on board.

Wardair was a Canadian charter airline that, again, is no longer in existence - it was acquired by Canadian Airlines in 1989 (they were in turn swallowed up by Air Canada in 2001).  They had a good reputation and on the basis of our flight I can well understand why.  Although a charter, the plane was comfortable and well appointed, as indeed were most planes then, with deep and comfortable seating and free food and drink (BCal had charged us for the meal on our outbound flight).  There was no Business or First Class cabin, and the upper deck was kitted out as a bar, with some big armchairs and a sofa or two.  As soon as we were able to move around, I left the ladies and tried it: it was good, decent Labbatt's beer and a good choice of wines and spirits.  I was the only customer for about an hour, then a few more people came up the stairs and I went back to my seat for a sleep.

It's probably fair to say that I fell in love with both travelling and flying on that trip, and the 747 played a big part in that.

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I did no more long haul for many years, until after a catalogue of jobs I ended up working for a banking software consultancy and early in 2000 was sent to New York for a couple of weeks' project work.  I travelled with a more senior colleague, and we met at Heathrow on the Sunday morning and checked in for our BA flight to Newark (this was before on-line check in was introduced).  My firm had paid Business Class for our flight - those were the salad days of my travelling life when all my trips were thus, before the bean-counters took over running the company - which meant we had seats on the Upper Deck.

By this time the top deck was more than the small bubble behind the cockpit that the first couple of 747 iterations had, including my Wardair.  The bar, alas, had gone but the expanded cabin had perhaps a dozen rows of spacious and comfortable seats with an early IFE set up (small screens, crappy headphones, terrible sound quality and limited program choice, but still better than anything offered in Economy).  The food was good, the booze plentiful and all free.  We were sat in the middle row, so no window views to enjoy, but it was comfortable enough, and for me a memorable introduction to Business Class intercontinental travel, as well as a first visit to the US.

The return flight, a week later, was if anything better, as I managed to bag a window seat. My companion pointed out some of the sights as we took off over Manhattan - it was a night flight, and in my mind the city lights put those of London to shame: a beautiful sight.

It was my first BA flight, and it was ok: whether it was worthy of the airline's boast of being The World's Favourite Airline is open to question, but I enjoyed it, and again the Queen of the Skies was faultless.

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I had to return to New York a couple of weeks later, this time on my own, and was booked from Gatwick on Virgin Atlantic.  I had heard so many great stories about their Upper Class product, and the airline generally, that I was rally looking forward to it.  

But I had to wait a bit.  When I got to Gatwick it was chaos.  Virgin had launched a new check in process that day, and it was full of bugs (as new software always is) so by the time I got to the desk, all the Premium Economy seats were gone (my company decided to shave costs as I was a relative novice and had not booked me Business).  Not to worry, said the very nice check in lady, we have plenty of room in Business so we'll upgrade you.  Is 1A ok?

Yep.  It was.  But at the gate there was no sign of the Virgin 747: instead there was a Continental Airlines 767: smaller, no upper deck, two engines not 4. A code share flight it seems.  In the event it was a terrific flight.  The amenity kit (BA had not provided one on my earlier flight from Heathrow) was excellent, the seat easily the most comfortable I had ever experienced (arguably it still is, twenty years later) and the food, drink and IFE much better than BAs.  Best of all, I was the sole Business Class passenger and had the entire front end of the plane to myself.  I can't think of a single thing to complain about.

I had to wait a fortnight for my Virgin flight, the return leg, and again I got a free upgrade, for no reason that I could perceive then or now.  It wasn't quite Upper Class as I didn't get to go upstairs, but my 1A was still a great seat: right in the nose, where the 747 gracefully comes to a point and offers the occupants of the front row window seats almost a forward view.  The cabin was clean and the seat much better than the BA one.  The IFE was also much better, with an eclectic choice of music channels (as you would expect from an airline run by a music mogul whose first success was Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells thirty years before) and plenty of movies and tv shows.  The food and bar service was also better than BAs.  I loved it.

But I've never flown Virgin since.

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Finally, back in 2011, I was sent on a real long haul, to Santiago in Chile via Sao Paulo Brazil. It remains the longest journey I've had to make.  By this time, my company was only using Business Class for senior management and sales people and I didn't qualify.  But by this time also I was suffering from hip problems (I still am) and medical advice said no more than 4 hours in an Economy seat.  I dug my heels in and insisted on Business, and since I was the only consultant qualified for this gig, they eventually caved in and booked it.

The Heathrow - Sao Paulo leg was the BA 747 bit both ways, and the longest part of the journey.  This time I was on the top deck, and had a window seat: not quite a lie-flat bed but close enough. Outbound, I travelled the week before the season ending F1 Grand Prix (it was a late finish that year) and I found myself sharing cabin space with the great and the good of the F1 world and the BBC (but not the drivers).  David Coulthard, recently retired and in his first season of punditry, was in the seat immediately in front of mine.  Eddie Jordan, who as a team manager had given the great Michael Schumacher his first drive, and now part of the BBC punditry, was across the aisle in a fluorescent orange shirt.  Ross Brawn, Ferrari's team principal in the dominant Schumacher years and in 2011 morphing his own championship winning Brawn team into the now dominant Mercedes team, was across the other side of the cabin.  In all the flights I have taken in my life, that was the only one where I have seen and shared space with really famous people that I admired (I discount a WAW - LHR flight sitting behind then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and LHR - WAW flight later on sitting next to then London Mayor Boris Johnson).

The return leg six weeks later was just another long flight to get home after way too long away from home and family.  But again I had a top deck window seat, and for the first time got to appreciate just how vast that plane was.  I was dizzy looking out of the window, and can well appreciate the words, getting back to the program I watched that inspired this essay, of the original BA pilot who stated it was "like landing a block of flats".  Great description and very true!

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And now she's gone.  Apart from freight versions, Air Force One and a small selection scattered around in far away airlines (like IranAir) the 747 has been withdrawn from service. In the COVID market where passenger numbers collapsed to perhaps 10 or 15% of their levels from January 2020, the 747 is simply not what the industry needs right now.  It's too big, too fuel inefficient and way too expensive to fly and maintain.  Industry experts and airline bosses agree that it will be several years before passenger numbers return to anything like pre-2020 levels - if ever.  There has been no option but to retire these huge and beautiful airplanes, before their time.  Maybe the even bigger, but less romantic, Airbus A380 will go the same way - production is ending I think next year in any case, and it's never been as popular or iconic as the 747.  It never will be now.  Like the dinosaur, the big double deck passenger jet is dying out, replaced by more fuel efficient and cheaper to run and maintain alternatives like the Airbus A350 and 330, or Boeing's 787 Dreamliner variants.  All good planes, but somehow......soulless in my view.  It's a shame, but perfectly understandable. 

So from this old traveller, it's farewell to the Queen of the Skies. And thanks for the memories.