PAL bids farewell to last Boeing 747

MANILA, Philippines - Pilots and cabin crew of Philippine Airlines (PAL)’s Boeing B747 yesterday bid the jet farewell at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The jet, last of PAL’s Boeing 747-400 series, arrived at NAIA at around 3:40 a.m. from its final flight from San Francisco.

It was doused with water from fire trucks of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) as soon as it landed.

The B747 left NAIA for San Francisco last Saturday and returned yesterday morning, ending 35 years of flying for PAL crew and passengers.

A cabin crewmember said flying on a B747 aircraft was smooth – a passenger can sleep well, as air pockets are hardly felt.

The jet will reportedly be brought to Arizona in the US, where it would be dismantled.

From being a B747-400, the aircraft was converted to B777-300ER in a ceremony held last May 12 at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

When the B747-200 series first arrived in Manila in December 1979, modifications were required to suit airport facilities.

The B747s were deployed on long and high-density routes such as North America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

PAL pioneered the use of full-flat beds called Skybeds for its passengers in the first-class deck.

The last PAL B747-400 with registry number RP-C7473 joined PAL’s fleet in April 1995. The first PAL B747-400 arrived in November 1993 from Seattle, Washington with former President Fidel Ramos on board.

PAL said it is retiring its Boeing B747 aircraft after 23 years in service to give way for the Boeing B777-300 series. The airline extended the aircraft’s service from June 30 to Aug. 30 this year.

The airline plans to increase deployment of Boeing B777 to San Francisco from two to seven flights weekly. 

PAL ordered Boeing 777 aircraft in 2006, hoping to reduce fuel and maintenance costs, particularly on flights to United States.

A Boeing 777 is used for PAL’s PR102/103 flights between Manila and Los Angeles. The B777 also flies to Vancouver, Toronto and London.

PAL has six Boeing 777 aircraft.