Qantas to retire the 747, Queen of the Skies

In some very sad news, Qantas today announced that it will retire the last of its Boeing 747 aircraft by the end of 2020 and replace them with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

Now I like the 787. My flights with them have mostly been smooth, the electronically shaded window mean that I can always see out and it's a fine looking aircraft to boot.

But it's no 747, the aircraft that brought intercontinental travel to the masses. There is something intangible about the 747 that evokes the glamour of flying, real or imagined. The size, the curves, that unique profile. Seated in the 747 I always felt like I was setting off on a long adventure. In a more modern jet it's just A to B.

My first flight on a 747 was on my very first international trip, with Singapore Airlines. I've also flown on them with Malaysia Airlines, British Airways, KLM and Cathay Pacific. But it is with Qantas that I hold my most precious memories of flying all the way to London via Bangkok on our honeymoon aboard a Qantas 747.

I flew their 747-300, 747-400 and 747-400ER at various times, including between Sydney and Narita, Christchurch to Sydney, to Singapore and even once from Sydney to Melbourne.

Possibly my favourite trips on the Qantas 747 was during my London trip in 2009. There I had the chance to compare Qantas' other four "holer", the even larger Airbus A380, with the 747 when I flew the latter from Singapore to London and back to Sydney via the now defunct Hong Kong route. Needless to say the 747 won, despite being an older aircraft. But the sight of multiple Qantas 747s lined up at Heathrow is an enduring memory.

Hopefully I'll get another chance to fly one before the Qantas 747 is gone from our skies altogether.

Comments

The Kamioka mines: from silver to supernovas

Part of the Kamioka zinc mining and smelter complex Just after posting about the Kamioka Railway another photo from that 2006 set piqued my interest. Up there in the mountains the landscape looked blasted not just by winter but by something more. It was the kind of lonely place where you would not expect to find major industry, so this sight was quite surprising. Even more surprising is the history associated with this photo. According to some sources mining and refining of ores in Kamioka dates back to 710 AD and only closed in 2001. Undoubtedly the mine was a major reason for the existence of the Kamioka Railway. Refining of zinc still continues to this day under the parent Mitsui Kenzoku zaibatsu . Gold, silver, copper, zinc and lead were all dug out of the rock here. Unfortunately, the process released cadmium into the river, which, when taken up by the rice that was grown in the river, caused the terrible itai-itai disease - meaning "It hurts! It hurts". Cadm...

Down the Oito Line

Riding the length of the Oito Line from Itoigawa to Shinjuku (well, Matsumoto, really, but you might as well go the whole way) has long been a dream of mine. It suddenly gained urgency when I read that the last length of it between Itoigawa to Minami-Otari would be closed once the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa and Toyama opens by next year. Now, as mentioned last time, B and Alex are among those that would much rather catch the very fast Shinkansen, but in the end she decided to follow me, despite the very early morning. We rode the Hokuetsu Express from Toyama to Itoigawa, completing a little more of that West Coast for me. Though the coastal stretch was short there were some nice views at times. I should like to see more of Itoigawa one day, explore its geology. But now we had to quickly cross over the platform bridge to catch our train to Minami-Otari. To my great delight it was a KiHa 120 railcar, my favourite. I felt a degree of sadness standing up at the front...

Asagaya and heading home

How can I be happy? I am about to return to a country where the toilets have at most two buttons and no seat warmers. But the tickets are booked and there are no cyclones, typhoons or other disasters standing in our way. It's almost time to go back to my first home. First B wants to do some "local shopping". So we catch the Chuo Line up a few stations to Asagaya, a residential area with a number of Shotengai, covered and uncovered arcades leading away from the station and narrow alleys lined with bars. It is an interesting area for a wander around. We are mainly looking, do some shopping for toothbrushes and sweets from Seiyu, a Wal-Mart owned supermarket/minor department store. We skipped breakfast and lunch is ramen and gyoza at a small restaurant near the entrance to the Pearl Centre shotengai. With the help of a staff member, I manage to purchase tickets at a branch of Lawson to the Ghibli Museum for a friend travelling to Japan in May. There are some...

travelling allrite

Search This Blog