NEWARK, N.J. -- Gate C98 at Newark Airport was festive on
Tuesday morning, as United Airlines held a retirement event for the Boeing 747.
United's last flight on the iconic plane, known as the "Queen
of the Skies," will take off on Nov. 7 from San Francisco to Honolulu, a
nod to its first flight with United on the same route on July 23, 1970. Its
last international flight is scheduled for this Sunday from Seoul to San
Francisco.
Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada
At the gate was a blue-and-white balloon arch and silver
balloons reading "Celebrating the 747." In addition to aptly colored
white and blue cupcakes, there was also a large sheet cake prominently
featuring a 747 and inscribed with "Farewell To The Queen Of The Sky."
United's employees at Newark, as well as media, boarded the
747 and toured the aircraft, from the cockpit to crew bunks at the back of the
plane. Many employees took photos in the cockpit and in seats on the aircraft's
iconic upper deck. A flight for employees was to follow the open house.
Tuesday's event was part of a series of events around the
country to say goodbye to the aircraft. United started holding them earlier
this month, and two more are scheduled at O'Hare Airport in Chicago on
Wednesday and at Denver Airport on Thursday.
"It's an era -- it's an era that's gone and it's not going to come back, unfortunately," said flight attendant Silja Kaude-Kelly. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada
United is retiring the 747 in favor of more fuel-efficient
and cost-effective planes, but the four-engine jumbo jet has left its mark on
travelers and crew.
United flight attendant Silja Kaude-Kelly has been with the
airline since 1999. Several years ago, she regularly flew on a 747.
For Kaude-Kelly, the aircraft's retirement represents the
end of a more genteel era of flying when Dom Perignon, caviar and full roasts
on board were part of the norm for the travelers who could afford it.
"I'm sad. I'm going to be ready to cry," she said
at Tuesday's farewell event. "It's an era -- it's an era that's gone and
it's not going to come back, unfortunately. It was a different way of
traveling."
United bids goodbye to the 747