United Airlines is giving passengers one final chance to fly on a jumbo jet in America (BA, UAL)
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet is going away. America's last two 747 operators, Delta and United, are both in the process of phasing out is jumbo fleet.
However, United is giving flyers one last chance to experience the Queen of the Skies in the US before her retirement.
On Friday, July 28, United will operate Flight 2704 from Chicago O'Hare International to San Francisco International Airport using one of the dozen or so 747-400 jets remaining in its fleet. The flight takes off from Chicago at 6:30 pm CT before landing in San Francisco at 8:51 pm local time.
Normally, the fleet is used exclusively on flights to Asia and Europe.
In an interview with Business Insider earlier this year, United CEO Oscar Munoz cited issues concerning the long-term maintenance of the 747 as a driving force behind the retirement of the aging aircraft.
United's new fleet of twin-engine Boeing 777-300ER airliners will take over many of the 747's routes. As for Delta, the new Airbus A350-900 is expected to replace the 747-400s it inherited through its 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines.
As the Boeing 747's time winds down, here's a look at the glorious past of the jumbo jet:
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The Boeing 747 first flew in February 1969.
The big jet and the Everett, Washington, factory in which it was built were designed and constructed in just 16 months by a team of 50,000 Boeing employees.
This group of people became known as the "Incredibles."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Contributer : Tech Insider http://ift.tt/2uZsNvI
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