Unless you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard, the days of the iconic 747 as a passenger jet are coming to end for many of the world’s airlines. Before you freak out, please know that the 747 will continue to fly for the foreseeable future. Most of the 747s that will continue to fly will do so as freighters, and the passenger version of the 747 will continue on with a few select airlines around the world. The last two US airlines flying this most beautiful flying machine, Delta and United, will retire their 747s by the end of 2017.
So much has been written about this plane. The ways in which it influenced and inspired commercial are innumerable.
My first ride on the Queen of The Skies was with Swissair: PHL – BOS – ZRH. Riding in the upper deck solidified my love of this aircraft.
Swissair 747-300 photo credit: Eduard Marmet via wikimedia commons
As I reminisce over the almost 30 years of aviation experience, I think of the number of times and different airlines 747s I’ve flown on (thus far). Here’s the list:
Air France 747-400 photo credit: AirlineGuys
Air New Zealand 747-400 photo credit: Pedro Aragao via wikimedia commons
Delta 747-400 photo credit: AirlineGuys
Japan Airlines 747-400 photo credit: Aero Icarus via wikimedia commons
Photo credit: Africaspotter at wikivoyage shared, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22688609
Northwest Airlines 747-200 photo credit: Paul Spijkers (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via wikimedia commons
NWA 747-400 photo credit: planephotoman http://www.flickr.com/photos/planephotoman/93492771/
Qantas 747-400 photo credit: AirlineGuys
TWA 747-200 photo credit: Jon Proctor http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=5960616
Virgin Atlantic 747-200 photo credit: Ralph Kunadt
Virgin Atlantic 747-400 photo credit: Adrian Pingstone via wikimedia commons
How many 747s have you flown on?
airlineguys 
i think only original Delta, Lufthansa and Singapore AL. First 747 flight was on Delta Flt 42, ATL-DTW on 24 December 1970. I was returning to DTW from a week’s 747 OJT. 747 Class was conducted on the ramp in front of what is now Delta Flight Museum. Sat in the first row of F/C all the way on the right.
That’s pretty exciting Paul! What great memories. DL LH and SQ. Nice lineup of airlines. Time for you to hop on another 747 before they’re retired!
Not sure if I was ever on the same one twice but here goes. ORD-HNL-ORD 7 times on UA (one HNL-ORD was a DC-8, hence the odd number). DL 1 time ORD-MIA. BA 2 times ORD-LHR-ORD. TWA 8 times on various itineraries to and from Europe via JFK or STL. AA once AUA-JFK, JFK-AUA was a 707. PA once LIS-JFK. Come to think of it I haven’t flown one since 1992.
Chuck, Your lineup is amazing! You have some -100/—200s here. And domestic too! Absolutely love the 747. Thanks for sharing.