Qantas has made its final B747 flight between Australia and mainland USA, ahead of the aircraft’s retirement in early 2020.

The final B747 jumbo flight on Qantas’ QF74 service departed San Francisco on December 3, according to tweets by both San Francisco airport, and the Qantas Airways USA accounts.

 

It’s understood that the carrier’s B747 will continue to operate on flights between Sydney and Hawaii this winter (hence the distinction of “mainland USA” above).

Earlier this year Qantas announced plans to roster the jumbo onto selected services on eight domestic routes between November 2019 and February 2020, with the final service being QF400 between Melbourne and Sydney on February 17, 2020.

Qantas offering special 747 flights on domestic routes before it retires the aircraft

Qantas took delivery of its first jumbo in 1971, and by 1979 had become the world’s first carrier with an all B747-fleet.

The aircraft was used on the airline’s nonstop Sydney-Los Angeles route from 1981, and was only retired from that service in December last year.

Qantas will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020, having been founded as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited in 1920, initially using an Avro 504 biplane aircraft.

qantas.com