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Air France lets go of the 747: The plane that changed air travel forever
CNN ^ | January 18, 2016 | Jim Bittermann

Posted on 01/19/2016 5:05:35 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki

Paris (CNN)As round trips go, it was more of an oval: Paris to Paris with no ground stop in between, and it had grown men and women getting all misty-eyed.

For Air France and its Boeing 747s, it was time to say goodbye -- but the airline and its personnel were having a hard time doing so.

The last scheduled Air France 747 flight had landed days earlier, but here we all were at 8 a.m. for the first of two separate "last 747 flights" around France which, in fact, were just a prelude to a few more "last 747 flights" around Le Bourget airfield.

When Air France announced it was abandoning its last three 747s because they are just too expensive to maintain, the airline switchboard was overwhelmed.

Some 30,000 people tried to get on board for one of those last flights.

Why such nostalgia for the Boeing with the back bump?

A French aviation specialist said he believes it's because the plane was the first to "democratize" flying.

When the 747 first entered service with Pan Am in 1970, it gained a distinctive flair and had a certain amount of elegance.

Remember that winding staircase to the upper deck with its open bar? What class -- first, of course!

Its unrivaled seating capacity and range spurred international air travel for an entire generation, earning the nickname "Queen of the Skies."

The jumbo could carry so many passengers to so many far-off places that more and more people had their first adventure abroad thanks to a 747.

(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 747; aerospace; airfrance; aviation; boeing
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To: ken5050
Everyone wore a jacket and tie those days....

Which made it much easier to tell the respectable people from the hoi polloi.

21 posted on 01/19/2016 6:44:01 AM PST by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: Fresh Wind

And you would be right!!!


22 posted on 01/19/2016 6:45:03 AM PST by ontap
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To: Olog-hai
...I kinda wish that the Lockheed L-500 (to have been based on the C-5 Galaxy) had come to be.

Problem is, FRED (the C-5) has only now become reliable enough, with the new engines and all-glass cockpit. And it can only carry 73 passengers in the passenger compartment.

23 posted on 01/19/2016 7:46:41 AM PST by JRios1968 (I'm guttery and trashy, with a hint of lemon. - Laz)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

First plane I ever flew on. It had a lounge with a fish tank wall, lots of leg room and helpful attendants. Niiiiice. Not the flying sardine cans of today.


24 posted on 01/19/2016 8:14:26 AM PST by bgill (CDC site, "We still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: ken5050

Everyone wore a jacket and tie those days....flying was civilized..and the PanAm stews were GORGEOUS..


So true. I remember as a kid taking a cross-country flight. I thought it was so neat we were served breakfast with real silverware on real plates with real silverware and cloth napkins. Stainless steel forks, knives, and spoons. Can hardly imagine such a civilized world even existed.


25 posted on 01/19/2016 8:21:11 AM PST by Flick Lives (One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast. -- Heinlein)
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To: Flick Lives

And then came People’s Express....


26 posted on 01/19/2016 8:24:36 AM PST by ken5050 (helpful co)
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To: Olog-hai

“...based on the C-5 Galaxy...”

Except for the little problem with the wings coming off. That would put the damper on any enthusiasm.


27 posted on 01/19/2016 8:28:24 AM PST by PLMerite (The Revolution...will not be kind.)
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To: PghBaldy

I don’t mind a “screamer,” but I rather she not be flying the plane when she’s doing it.


28 posted on 01/19/2016 8:29:24 AM PST by PLMerite (The Revolution...will not be kind.)
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To: ken5050

Back in the ‘80s I got on a puddle-jumper flight (18-seater) from Leeds-Bradford to London. Only about six passengers, one of whom boarded with a six-pack of Carling Black Label beer as carry-on. The guy was already half-lit and he offered to share.


29 posted on 01/19/2016 8:38:55 AM PST by PLMerite (The Revolution...will not be kind.)
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To: Daniel Ramsey

My all-time favorite commercial jet is the 757. Slender overpowered rocket. Love it.
I always look for it when booking a flight.
Last flight to Fla. I booked with Delta just to get on one. Bypassed shorter, cheaper hops for the pleasure.
Takeoff is , well, closest I’ll get to the feeling of a Saturn V.


30 posted on 01/19/2016 11:10:56 AM PST by Vinnie
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To: ken5050
Everyone wore a jacket and tie those days....flying was civilized..and the PanAm stews were GORGEOUS..

PanAm was unionized up the wazoo. Once competition opened up, they were unable to compete. They kept operating at a loss by selling assets and leasing them back, until there was nothing left to sell.

31 posted on 01/19/2016 11:31:52 AM PST by PapaBear3625 (Big government is attractive to those who think that THEY will be in control of it.)
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To: Vinnie

You would like Icelandair. They only fly 757s.


32 posted on 01/19/2016 11:57:49 AM PST by Truth29
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To: Vinnie

I was just looking at the Delta Plus seat options on it, looks like my trip from Anchorage to Orlando will be on the 757.


33 posted on 01/19/2016 3:25:52 PM PST by Daniel Ramsey
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To: Truth29
You would like Icelandair. They only fly 757s.

Do they fly to Dallas? :^)

My Awful list has one plane....Shorts 360. Truly awful.
Noisy, vibrates, high wing, when going down the runway you lift your feet.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Cargo-Carriers/Short-360-.../2761005/&sid=de2c804b56dc66928a7920c83f20f576

34 posted on 01/19/2016 3:30:51 PM PST by Vinnie
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To: Daniel Ramsey
...looks like my trip from Anchorage to Orlando will be on the 757

Fasten you seat belt!Lemme know how you like it.

35 posted on 01/19/2016 3:41:14 PM PST by Vinnie
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To: Vinnie

Ever flown a 757 out of John Wayne (SNA) ? Due to noise abatement, they fly a very steep angle of ascent, near full throttle, until it gets to 5,000 feet. Then they throttle back, and level off, it feels like the engines have shut down. Neat experience, if you know what to expect, but it scares the heck out of those who are unaware . . .


36 posted on 01/19/2016 9:37:41 PM PST by jttpwalsh
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To: jttpwalsh

My few 757 flights originated in RDU and PIT. When the pilot pulls the nose up on that plane, wow.
Another overpowered plane, according to my son, is the A-319. Same power as the A-320 in a smaller pkg.


37 posted on 01/20/2016 3:34:33 AM PST by Vinnie
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To: Vinnie

Don’t fly, that often, anymore, but will keep my eye out for the A-319. Thanks !


38 posted on 01/20/2016 6:32:05 AM PST by jttpwalsh
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