Air India’s Boeing 747

One of Air India’s Boeing 747s, which once carried VVIPs such as prime ministers, presidents and vice-presidents, on Monday took off from Mumbai’s international airport for the last time, the first to be used for long-haul international flights. Marks the end of an era for the iconic jet. Flights.

The plane, also known as the Queen of the Skies, is being flown to Penfield, US, where it will probably be dismantled and taken apart into parts.

There are four Air India Boeing 747s, the last of which ceased operations four years ago.

Look what we have here! first of many former @Air India B747-400 PAX aircraft which were going from Mumbai to America.

#avgeek#Queen#b747#Air Indiapic.twitter.com/d9WAIx3RBY

– Nomadic Aviation Group 🇺🇸 (@Nomadic_OMD) 21 April 2024

Pilots taking out the jet performed the “wing wave” – an aviation tradition reserved for retiring or concluding flights.

Wingwave’s special video on departure #Mumbai#Air India#nomadic#boeing#boeing747

Video taken by a friend. pic.twitter.com/vwrjZyzaLq

– Varun Solanki (@varunb777) 22 April 2024

Airlines around the world are replacing the 747 with newer and more efficient jets. Air India took delivery of its first Boeing 747 on 22 March 1971.

According to a report in The Economic Times, four Boeing 747-400 airplanes have found a new owner – US-based Aircel, a supplier of aftermarket commercial jet engines and parts.

Air India last flew the 747 in 2021, and since then, they have been parked at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.