Delta has completed the farewell tour for its last Boeing
747 jumbo jet.
"It's the end of an era," a Delta maintenance
staffer based in Minneapolis said as part of the carrier's marketing video
about the final flight.
The farewell tour ended Wednesday with a flight to
Minneapolis-St. Paul from Atlanta. The tour also included a flight on Monday
between Detroit and Seattle and one on Tuesday from Seattle to Atlanta.
The flights were occupied by Delta employees and retirees as
well as by customers who won tickets through auctions in which they bid with SkyMiles.
Delta's final regularly scheduled 747 flight traveled from
Seoul to Detroit on Saturday.
The retirement marks the end for commercial 747 service on
U.S. airlines, though the plane is still used by international carriers. United
retired its final 747 in November among much fanfare.
Delta will use the 747 for charter flights through Dec. 31.
The aircraft's true final flight will be sometime in early January when it
travels to its retirement location in Arizona. That flight won't be open to
passengers.