Queen of the Skies

Back in the seventies when I was developing my avgeekery, not that avgeekery was a term we used back then, there were two commercial aircraft of the era that caught the imagination of even those who had little interest in aviation. One was Concorde, the other was the Boeing 747. Whilst both these aircraft were designed to carry passengers, they took a very different approach to that task. Concorde was designed for speed. More than twice as fast as any airliner before or since, Concorde was a magnificent machine. Sleek and sexy, it was the star of the airline world. It could carry a hundred passengers between London and New York in three hours, quite an astonishing achievement for the 1970s. The Boeing 747 was big and chunky. It could carry four hundred passengers between London and New York in seven hours, the same time as the 180 seat 707s that were plying the route in tthe 1960s. You might think that Concorde would be a clear winner but no, the Boeing 747, still in production to this day, sold a hundred times more airframes than its supersonic rival. The reason was purely down to cost. Concorde was so expensive to buy and operate that even if an airline could fill every one of those one hundred seats on every flight, fares would have to be enormous. In the end British Airways and Air France were gifted eight production Concordes apiece and even then could only make it profitable on the London/Paris – New York run. There just wasn’t enough super rich folk in the world. The Boeing 747 had four hundred seats to fill which resulted in fares being dropped and a whole new market for long haul travel was tapped. Despite one or two hiccups on the way, the 747 allowed airlines to turn a profit on long haul services and the world to become better connected than ever.

Ok, that’s all very well and good I hear you say, but what is the relevance to today? On January 22 next year, the aircraft will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its first commercial service. Despite this, the type is still connecting cities around the world. Whilst the early 747s have almost completely disappeared, the 747-400 series, a version that first entered service in 1989, still flies for a number of airlines. Those airframes are nearing the end of their lives, however, and whilst the modern 747-8 version is still in production, it has proven to be a poor seller in the passenger aircraft market where more efficient twin engined aircraft are now the norm. In short, your chances of flying on a 747 are rapidly dwindling. The once huge British Airways 747 fleet is due to be phased out by 2023. I recently took a flight from London to Vancouver and back with BA and was delighted to find out that it would be a Boeing 747-400 that would be operating the service. I have been on 747s before but this might be the last time I had the chance. Back in the day there was nothing like a 747. It was enormous. In my spotting days I’d spend the day at Manchester Airport where the star of the show was the 747 operated by Canadian airline Wardair. It looked huge next to the One Elevens and 727s on the adjacent stands. That’s because it WAS huge and still is today. The distinctive hump at the front was like nothing else you were likely to see. Born from the need to raise the cockpit above the main deck to assist in the loading of the cargo version of the aircraft through the nose, the small passenger deck behind the flight deck was accessed by a spiral staircase. It used to house a cocktail lounge for first class passengers but airlines soon tired of that idea and used it to accommodate extra passenger seats. Later versions, including the -400 series had the hump stretched increasing the capacity of the upper deck. Sadly, the spiral staircase made way for a regular one as squeezing maximum revenue out of the aircraft’s cavernous interior became a priority. It was the first passenger aircraft to be wide bodied – back in the economy section seats were arranged ten abreast in a 3-4-3 pattern with two aisles. Twin aisled aircraft are commonplace now but not many fit ten seats in each row.

The 747 was powered by four ‘high bypass’ turbofan engines. Feel free to google it if you want, for here it will suffice to say they were much bigger and more powerful than the other jet engines of the time. They are now the norm on airliners, big and small. It’s not a lie when I say the aircraft was a beast. My first time on one was in 1987, Heathrow to Singapore on a Singapore Airlines 747-300. This had the stretched upper deck but of course I never got anywhere near that. I just remember marvelling at the raw power of the engines as we commenced our take off roll. I was already fond of the 747 but after that flight I was smitten. Fast forward to 2019 and I’m back in Heathrow’s unimpressive Terminal Three. I present myself at the gate and the agent scans my boarding pass, which, because I’m really tech savvy, I had on my iPhone. Her computer made a rather disturbing noise and a puzzled look appeared on her face. Tapping a few keys on the keyboard she hit return and a new paper boarding pass was printed off. For reasons unexplained my Premium Economy seat had been changed to one in Club World, British Airway’s business class. You’ve got an upgrade said the agent and bid me on my way. A bit of luck there then. The seat was in the Club World section in the main cabin rather than the upper deck. Despite being a wee bitty excited to be flying the 747 once more, the flight was actually quite dull. It was an aisle seat and I missed having a window to look out of, even though there would have been nothing to see as the entire flight took place in the hours of darkness. If you are going to be bored, however, you might as well be bored in the relative comfort of Club World if you get the chance.

On the way back I had booked a Club World ticket (using Avios, I’m not so well off that I can go business class willy-nilly) and was hoping that they might upgrade me to First but no, I’ve obviously had my quota of upgrades. This time I had a window seat on the upper deck which was much better for a geek like me. It also meant a bit more privacy and plenty of storage space with a row of lockers beneath the windows. It is an ideal place to enjoy the 747 experience, mainly because you are facing rearwards and can see one of the magnificent wings and two of the four mighty engines that hold the beast aloft and allow it to hurtle through the air at Mach 0.85. (That’s fast by the way, not Concorde fast but you certainly wouldn’t want to get in the way of one) The upper deck consists of five rows of four Club World seats and feels more spacious and exclusive than the other Club World cabin down the stairs. I was all set for a restful red eye flight back to Heathrow when I noticed the four seats in the row behind were occupied by a family of five. Mum, dad, two small girls and a babe in arms. Oh good I thought. I know we were all babies and children once but when I was that age I never went in a plane, never mind the posh seats. We were too poor in Yorkshire tha nos. However, I need not have been so snobbish, the two girls were as good as gold and once the baby was plonked in a bassinet I never heard a peep from her. The dad on the other hand spent the entire flight getting up and down, accessing the several tons of hand luggage they had secreted round the cabin and generally faffing about. After a very acceptable dinner I had a quick look out of the window to see if I could see the aurora (I couldn’t) and settled down to sleep. I think I managed about four hours, a reasonable if unspectacular amount for an eight hour flight across eight time zones. We touched down on Runway 27R at Heathrow well ahead of schedule and made the short taxi to Terminal Three. Heading up the corridor I looked out of the window at the twenty-five year old 747 that had delivered my safely back to London. She still looked a beast. You may have noticed I’ve not used the ‘J’ word in this short epistle. I never liked the term ‘Jumbo Jet’. Yes, both are big but there the similarity ends. 747s tend not to be grey and wrinkly and don’t have a long manoeuvrable proboscis for a start. The Boeing 747 has since gained another nickname, not one that’s widely known outside of avgeek circles: Queen of the Skies. She may well be a big lump of a queen but a queen she is nevertheless. She’s the business. I’ll mis her when she’s gone.