Last edit by: expert7700
News Release Issued: September 18, 2017 (3:17pm EDT)
"Friend Ship" Will Recreate the Journey of the First United 747 Flight from 1970
United's final international 747 flight from Seoul to San Francisco departs October 29
CHICAGO, Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of United Airlines retiring the Boeing 747 from its fleet, United flight 747, on Tuesday, Nov. 7 from San Francisco to Honolulu will be the airline's farewell flight to the 747 fleet.
This journey will serve as the ultimate throwback for customers, employees and invited guests as it recreates the first 747 flight operated by United in 1970. From a 1970s-inspired menu to retro uniforms for flight attendants to inflight entertainment befitting of that first flight, passengers will help send the Queen of the Skies off in true style. The original United 747 aircraft that first made this journey from San Francisco to Honolulu was named the "Friend Ship," the same name bestowed on this farewell flight.
Seats on this special, one-way trip, United flight 747, are available for purchase now at united.com or through the United app. The seats in the upper deck will not be sold, giving all guests the opportunity to spend time in this iconic space.
Customers seated in United Polaris first class and United Polaris business class will be entered into a drawing that will take place at the gate prior to boarding for an opportunity to occupy one of a select number of seats in the upper deck during the flight.
The journey will begin with a gate celebration at 9 a.m. local time at San Francisco International Airport, featuring a Boeing 747 gallery, remarks from United employees and executives, as well as refreshments. The flight will depart San Francisco International Airport at 11 a.m. local time, landing at Honolulu International Airport at 2:45 p.m. local time. Upon landing in Honolulu, local employees will welcome the aircraft with final festivities to close out the historic day. Customers and fans of the Queen of the Skies are encouraged to use the #UA747Farewell hashtag in social media posts.
United and the Boeing 747 through the Years
April 13, 1966: Boeing announces it will build a 490-passenger 747 transport. Construction is set to begin in June on a new plant in Everett, Washington.
January 3, 1967: The first production workers for the 747 program arrive in Everett. The 50,000 who would produce the world's largest civilian airplane were known as The Incredibles, and they earned the label by bringing the Jumbo Jet dream to reality in only 16 months.
September 30, 1968: The first Boeing 747-100, City of Everett, is rolled out at their Washington plant, painted with the insignias of the 27 airlines that had already ordered the aircraft including United.
February 9, 1969: The Boeing 747-100 makes its first flight.
January 21, 1970: The Boeing 747 makes its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American World Airways.
June 26, 1970: Continental Airlines becomes one of the first carriers to put the Boeing 747 into U.S. domestic service, flying from Chicago to Los Angeles and onward to Honolulu.
June 26, 1970: United Airlines receives its first Boeing 747-100 complete with a christening ceremony fit for a luxury liner.
July 23, 1970: United makes its first Boeing 747 commercial flight, with a trip from San Francisco to Honolulu.
January 1977: A modified Boeing 747-100 is delivered to NASA to serve as a carrier vehicle for the Space Shuttle.
April 22, 1985: United announces its plan to acquire Pan Am's Pacific routes, as well as 11 Boeing 747SP planes. The 747SPs feature a 48-foot-shorter body and fly higher, faster, and farther than standard 747 models.
January 29-30, 1988: Friendship One, a Boeing 747SP owned by United Airlines, sets the around-the-world air speed record of 36 hours, 54 minutes, and 15 seconds. This special flight raises $500,000 for children's charities through the Friendship Foundation. Tickets cost a minimum of $5,000, and special guest passengers included astronaut Neil Armstrong, famed test pilots Bob Hoover and Lieutenant General Laurence C. Craigie, and Moya Lear, the widow of Lear Jet founder Bill Lear.
June, 1989: United Airlines receives their first Boeing 747-400 which provides increased range.
August 23, 1990: The first of two modified Boeing 747-200Bs is delivered to the Air Force for presidential transport. Better known as Air Force One, these planes still serve the president today, having replaced the Boeing 707-320Bs that had served as the presidential aircraft for almost 30 years.
September 1996: A 747SP previously flown by United is transformed into NASA's SOFIA, or Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, which carries a 17-ton, 8-foot-wide infrared telescope mounted behind an enormous sliding door.
June 28, 2014: Boeing delivers the 1,500th 747 to come off the production line. The 747 aircraft is the world's first wide-body airplane in history to reach the 1,500 production units milestone.
January 11, 2017: United announces that it will retire the Boeing 747-400 fleet in the last quarter of 2017.
July 28, 2017: United schedules a special domestic flight from Chicago O'Hare to San Francisco to allow more people to say farewell to the Queen of the Skies.
October 29, 2017: United flies its last international 747 flight from Seoul to San Francisco.
November 7, 2017: United celebrates the retirement of the Boeing 747 with a fitting full-circle moment. A special retro event sees the aircraft flying from San Francisco to Honolulu—a nod to its first-ever flight back in 1970.
Flight Status Link
(May require multiple attempts to load; close and re-click if website errors.)
FT Handle -- seat (optional)
ORD4R - 2A
tcdtcd and son - 450pm return to ORD - 2K/3K
kevanyalowitz - 3H (will trade for 1A/K!)
jdivenere - 4A
UA1flyer - 4C
CO FF - 6K (return to LAX on HA2 @ 3:45pm or UA 534 @ 9:45pm)
ctownflyer - 7A
JSpira - 9K
EWR764 - 19G - return @ 420pm to EWR UA62
ChiTownMuggle - 20D
Ruhr - 20H
pushmyredbutton - 20K
greg99 - 21D
BThumme - 22A - return @ 945pm to LAX
goldelite8 - 22G
Trijet1011 - 24A
MRY Flyer +1 - 24 H&J
Cybertronic - 25H
Sykes - 33C
ZRS70 - 33H
eklapper - 34A
plc44 - 34K
Pat89339 - 35C
CaptKornDog - 36C
eap+1 - 40HK
ual763 - 51k
expert7700 - 36K
Seatmap below shows FTers in red. Valid as of 11/6.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rrwq0gdcdb...FTers.jpg?dl=0
SCROLL DOWN FOR LIST OF FLYERTALK MEMBERS ON THIS FLIGHT
"Friend Ship" Will Recreate the Journey of the First United 747 Flight from 1970
United's final international 747 flight from Seoul to San Francisco departs October 29
CHICAGO, Sept. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of United Airlines retiring the Boeing 747 from its fleet, United flight 747, on Tuesday, Nov. 7 from San Francisco to Honolulu will be the airline's farewell flight to the 747 fleet.
This journey will serve as the ultimate throwback for customers, employees and invited guests as it recreates the first 747 flight operated by United in 1970. From a 1970s-inspired menu to retro uniforms for flight attendants to inflight entertainment befitting of that first flight, passengers will help send the Queen of the Skies off in true style. The original United 747 aircraft that first made this journey from San Francisco to Honolulu was named the "Friend Ship," the same name bestowed on this farewell flight.
Seats on this special, one-way trip, United flight 747, are available for purchase now at united.com or through the United app. The seats in the upper deck will not be sold, giving all guests the opportunity to spend time in this iconic space.
Customers seated in United Polaris first class and United Polaris business class will be entered into a drawing that will take place at the gate prior to boarding for an opportunity to occupy one of a select number of seats in the upper deck during the flight.
The journey will begin with a gate celebration at 9 a.m. local time at San Francisco International Airport, featuring a Boeing 747 gallery, remarks from United employees and executives, as well as refreshments. The flight will depart San Francisco International Airport at 11 a.m. local time, landing at Honolulu International Airport at 2:45 p.m. local time. Upon landing in Honolulu, local employees will welcome the aircraft with final festivities to close out the historic day. Customers and fans of the Queen of the Skies are encouraged to use the #UA747Farewell hashtag in social media posts.
United and the Boeing 747 through the Years
April 13, 1966: Boeing announces it will build a 490-passenger 747 transport. Construction is set to begin in June on a new plant in Everett, Washington.
January 3, 1967: The first production workers for the 747 program arrive in Everett. The 50,000 who would produce the world's largest civilian airplane were known as The Incredibles, and they earned the label by bringing the Jumbo Jet dream to reality in only 16 months.
September 30, 1968: The first Boeing 747-100, City of Everett, is rolled out at their Washington plant, painted with the insignias of the 27 airlines that had already ordered the aircraft including United.
February 9, 1969: The Boeing 747-100 makes its first flight.
January 21, 1970: The Boeing 747 makes its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American World Airways.
June 26, 1970: Continental Airlines becomes one of the first carriers to put the Boeing 747 into U.S. domestic service, flying from Chicago to Los Angeles and onward to Honolulu.
June 26, 1970: United Airlines receives its first Boeing 747-100 complete with a christening ceremony fit for a luxury liner.
July 23, 1970: United makes its first Boeing 747 commercial flight, with a trip from San Francisco to Honolulu.
January 1977: A modified Boeing 747-100 is delivered to NASA to serve as a carrier vehicle for the Space Shuttle.
April 22, 1985: United announces its plan to acquire Pan Am's Pacific routes, as well as 11 Boeing 747SP planes. The 747SPs feature a 48-foot-shorter body and fly higher, faster, and farther than standard 747 models.
January 29-30, 1988: Friendship One, a Boeing 747SP owned by United Airlines, sets the around-the-world air speed record of 36 hours, 54 minutes, and 15 seconds. This special flight raises $500,000 for children's charities through the Friendship Foundation. Tickets cost a minimum of $5,000, and special guest passengers included astronaut Neil Armstrong, famed test pilots Bob Hoover and Lieutenant General Laurence C. Craigie, and Moya Lear, the widow of Lear Jet founder Bill Lear.
June, 1989: United Airlines receives their first Boeing 747-400 which provides increased range.
August 23, 1990: The first of two modified Boeing 747-200Bs is delivered to the Air Force for presidential transport. Better known as Air Force One, these planes still serve the president today, having replaced the Boeing 707-320Bs that had served as the presidential aircraft for almost 30 years.
September 1996: A 747SP previously flown by United is transformed into NASA's SOFIA, or Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, which carries a 17-ton, 8-foot-wide infrared telescope mounted behind an enormous sliding door.
June 28, 2014: Boeing delivers the 1,500th 747 to come off the production line. The 747 aircraft is the world's first wide-body airplane in history to reach the 1,500 production units milestone.
January 11, 2017: United announces that it will retire the Boeing 747-400 fleet in the last quarter of 2017.
July 28, 2017: United schedules a special domestic flight from Chicago O'Hare to San Francisco to allow more people to say farewell to the Queen of the Skies.
October 29, 2017: United flies its last international 747 flight from Seoul to San Francisco.
November 7, 2017: United celebrates the retirement of the Boeing 747 with a fitting full-circle moment. A special retro event sees the aircraft flying from San Francisco to Honolulu—a nod to its first-ever flight back in 1970.
(May require multiple attempts to load; close and re-click if website errors.)
ARE YOU ON THIS FINAL 747 FLIGHT?
FT Handle -- seat (optional)
ORD4R - 2A
tcdtcd and son - 450pm return to ORD - 2K/3K
kevanyalowitz - 3H (will trade for 1A/K!)
jdivenere - 4A
UA1flyer - 4C
CO FF - 6K (return to LAX on HA2 @ 3:45pm or UA 534 @ 9:45pm)
ctownflyer - 7A
JSpira - 9K
EWR764 - 19G - return @ 420pm to EWR UA62
ChiTownMuggle - 20D
Ruhr - 20H
pushmyredbutton - 20K
greg99 - 21D
BThumme - 22A - return @ 945pm to LAX
goldelite8 - 22G
Trijet1011 - 24A
MRY Flyer +1 - 24 H&J
Cybertronic - 25H
Sykes - 33C
ZRS70 - 33H
eklapper - 34A
plc44 - 34K
Pat89339 - 35C
CaptKornDog - 36C
eap+1 - 40HK
ual763 - 51k
expert7700 - 36K
Seatmap below shows FTers in red. Valid as of 11/6.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rrwq0gdcdb...FTers.jpg?dl=0
Official: Final United Boeing 747 Flight Was SFO-HNL on 7 Nov 2017 {SOLD OUT}
#286
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: ORD, HKG
Programs: UA*G, AA Emerald, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt globalist
Posts: 10,275
Quite often you would see 2 744 parked next to each other at SFO, one to ORD, and one to DEN.
#287
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: TOA
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott LTPP/Platinum Premier, Hyatt Lame-ist, UA !K
Posts: 20,061
Given all of the memorabilia in the corridor going to the 80 gates at SFO, I would hope and think that one of the 80 gates will get the assignment.
David
David
#288
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
Programs: Au: UA, Marriott, Hilton; GE
Posts: 7,140
Given that HNL flights tend to leave from Gate 80 and 86, I'd bet that one of those gates will be the departure point. The only reason I can see for not using those gates would be an attempt to find a more private area that can be cordoned off for the departure party.
Last edited by 747FC; Oct 13, 2017 at 6:17 pm Reason: edit
#289
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: COS/DEN
Programs: UA 1P (w/ no expectations whatsoever); Marriott Gold; Hilton Silver; Hertz Pres
Posts: 693
Well, now is the time for me to find what swag I can to bring with me on this trip. Still on the lookout for some cool shirts or hats. Sadly, I couldn't really find many "pudgy" Boeing stickers or bag tags with United or 747s, so I decided to start drawing my own. Close to final draft, possibly may tweak the background color and text. Then of course, deciding which one(s) to have made:
#290
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 24
First design is in spirit of the flight - however you need a 70"s typestyle for copy to make it complete...
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Oct 20, 2017 at 7:46 am Reason: Per FT Rule 10, that FT is not a marketplace.
#291
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: 6km East of EPAYE
Programs: UA Silver, AA Platinum, AS & DL GM Marriott TE, Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,582
Just saw the E-mail to bid on twi economy seats to SFO --> onto the final 747 flight than back to your home airport.
Bid is up to 390K already - anyone here in the bidding??
Bid is up to 390K already - anyone here in the bidding??
#292
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,450
Well, now is the time for me to find what swag I can to bring with me on this trip. Still on the lookout for some cool shirts or hats. Sadly, I couldn't really find many "pudgy" Boeing stickers or bag tags with United or 747s, so I decided to start drawing my own. Close to final draft, possibly may tweak the background color and text. Then of course, deciding which one(s) to have made:
Last edited by Ocn Vw 1K; Oct 16, 2017 at 10:41 pm Reason: Per FT Rule 10, that FT is not a marketplace.
#293
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: UA Plat/2MM [23-yr. 1K, now emeritus] clawing way back to WN-A List; MR LT Titanium; HY Whateverist.
Posts: 12,396
Moderator Note.
We're fully aware of the avid interest in the final flights of UA's 747s. We'd like to share a few points that can avoid some intervention in these threads:
First, this forum does allow giveaways of United logo and souvenir items. And these final 747 flights would be an apt situation for that. See the sitewide Announcement here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...lowed-598.html
However, FlyerTalk Rule 10 does bar FT acting as a marketplace where any items are offered for sale or barter. So let's avoid posts re offering to buy or sell swag or other items which can show up on these flights. Thanks! Ocn Vw 1K, for the United forum Moderator team
First, this forum does allow giveaways of United logo and souvenir items. And these final 747 flights would be an apt situation for that. See the sitewide Announcement here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...lowed-598.html
However, FlyerTalk Rule 10 does bar FT acting as a marketplace where any items are offered for sale or barter. So let's avoid posts re offering to buy or sell swag or other items which can show up on these flights. Thanks! Ocn Vw 1K, for the United forum Moderator team
#294
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 518
United planning 2-hour celebration flights departing and arriving in same city, along with open-house tour.
SFO - 12 Oct
LAX - 16 & 17 Oct
IAH - 18 Oct
IAD - 19 Oct
EWR - 24 Oct
ORD - 25 Oct
DEN - 26 Oct
Currently, it's only open for United employees to enter into a drawing to win a seat, but be on he lookout, some seats will probably open up for the public before too long. Keep checking!
SFO - 12 Oct
LAX - 16 & 17 Oct
IAH - 18 Oct
IAD - 19 Oct
EWR - 24 Oct
ORD - 25 Oct
DEN - 26 Oct
Currently, it's only open for United employees to enter into a drawing to win a seat, but be on he lookout, some seats will probably open up for the public before too long. Keep checking!
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N118UA
#295
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Seoul
Programs: None anymore
Posts: 983
I wonder if anybody got some good pictures of the 747 at LAX!
#296
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: COS/DEN
Programs: UA 1P (w/ no expectations whatsoever); Marriott Gold; Hilton Silver; Hertz Pres
Posts: 693
We're fully aware of the avid interest in the final flights of UA's 747s. We'd like to share a few points that can avoid some intervention in these threads:
First, this forum does allow giveaways of United logo and souvenir items. And these final 747 flights would be an apt situation for that. See the sitewide Announcement here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...lowed-598.html
However, FlyerTalk Rule 10 does bar FT acting as a marketplace where any items are offered for sale or barter. So let's avoid posts re offering to buy or sell swag or other items which can show up on these flights. Thanks! Ocn Vw 1K, for the United forum Moderator team
First, this forum does allow giveaways of United logo and souvenir items. And these final 747 flights would be an apt situation for that. See the sitewide Announcement here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...lowed-598.html
However, FlyerTalk Rule 10 does bar FT acting as a marketplace where any items are offered for sale or barter. So let's avoid posts re offering to buy or sell swag or other items which can show up on these flights. Thanks! Ocn Vw 1K, for the United forum Moderator team
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Oct 20, 2017 at 7:47 am Reason: Quote updated to reflect Mod edit
#297
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: United Gold, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 207
I love the rainbow livery 747! let me know if you bring them aboard!
#298
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: United Gold, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 207
Pilot of UA 2801 just requested an unrestricted climb on his take off out of LAX to IAH. Tower approved it up to 5,000 ft. Great gesture from the crew!
#299
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA Plat 2MM. DL Plat, AS MVP
Posts: 12,752
Back to the thread topic...
Seat map on SFO-HNL flight just opened wide for business class. Lots of seats available to choose (though not for sale).
Seat map on SFO-HNL flight just opened wide for business class. Lots of seats available to choose (though not for sale).