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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Passengers bid ‘Queen’ farewell in one last flight
Travelers pose with a China Airlines flight attendant in front of a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet at a farewell party for the airline’s “Queen of the Skies” fleet at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
DECADES OF MEMORIES: A former flight attendant said she remembered seeing the northern lights and watching a solar eclipse aboard the plane
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter, in TAOYUAN
Nearly 400 people yesterday joined China Airlines’ “farewell tour” to Japan to say farewell to its Boeing 747-400 fleet, which the airline is retiring this year.
The aircraft, also known as the “Queen of the Skies,” was the first long-range, wide-body jet, and the first to be called a jumbo jet. The airline began adding the 747s to its fleet in 1990.
The farewell journey took 375 people on a six-hour tour, without landing, to Japan and back, with a trip around Mt Fuji.
People who booked seats in first class were served dishes that used to be part of the plane’s first-class cabin menu.
Each participant also received a bag of memorabilia related to the jet, including a model aircraft, masks, key chains, canvas bags and a flight certificate.
The package tour sold out within five minutes when it was made available in January.
As the plane approached Mt Fuji, which is between Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, passengers raised their glasses in honor of the jet’s final flight. A passenger from Kaohsiung surnamed Yang （楊） took the opportunity to propose to his girlfriend. She accepted.
Teizo Miyasaki, Shizuoka Prefecture’s Taiwan office director, provided passengers with information about the prefecture’s attractions and agricultural products on the flight.
“The airline launched Taipei-Shizuoka express flight service on March 15, 2012, bringing many Taiwanese tourists to the prefecture. Although the flight service is suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am sure people in Shizuoka would heartily welcome your arrival once service is resumed,” Miyasaki said.
Wearing a Boeing 747-400 jacket, an aviation enthusiast surnamed Pi （皮） said the aircraft was a milestone in the industry.
“Aircraft might come with newer and better designs, but the legendary Boeing 747-400 will always be remembered,” he said.
A 26-year-old man surnamed Hsu （許） said he and his cousin were fortunate to secure one of the limited spots available for the tour, adding that his father bought him a model Boeing 747-400 when he was six years old.
The airline had used the aircraft on services to Australia, Europe and North America over the past 30 years, China Airlines’ Taiwan office director Chiu Wei-tuan （丘偉端） said at a ceremony at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
The jet’s most distinctive feature is its upper deck, Chiu said, adding that many passengers were also impressed by its spacious cabins and reliable operation.
Boeing 747 aircraft, which are equipped with four engines, have been in operation for more than 40 years.
As the market moves to more energy-efficient jets, it is time for the aircraft to retire, Chiu said.
Kuan Hui-wen （管慧雯）, who had worked as a flight attendant before becoming a section chief in the airline’s flight service division, said it was difficult to part with the plane.
“I have been working at the airline for more than 30 years and used to spend more than 10 hours working on the aircraft whenever I was on duty. I saw the northern lights when the aircraft flew past Alaska and have seen a total solar eclipse while aboard it. When former president Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） and former vice president Vincent Siew （蕭萬長） visited [Taiwan’s] allies in Central and South America, I was working on the chartered flights, too. There are just so many memories,” she said.
China Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 fleet has been used 11 times for presidential flights, including those dispatched during the administrations of Ma and former president Chen Shui-bian （陳水扁）.
The airline’s flight service from Taoyuan airport to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport was started in 1993 using a Boeing 747-400 jet. During the 2003 Lunar New Year holiday, a Boeing 747-400 landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, marking the first charter flight to China by a Taiwanese carrier.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Mt Fuji in Japan is seen surrounded by clouds during a Boeing 747-400 round-trip flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Taipei Times
