Air India's last Boeing 747, ‘queen of the skies’, bids goodbye to Mumbai
Upstox
2 min read • Updated: April 22, 2024, 3:55 PM
Summary
The airline took off from the Mumbai base to head towards its new home in the United States at 10:47 AM. The pilots onboard performed the “wing wave” manoeuvre – that is linked with the aviation industry’s tradition of bidding goodbye to the retiring flights.
A year after being deregistered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the last Boeing 747 aircraft of Air India, once dubbed as the “queen of the skies”, flew for the final time in the Mumbai skies on Monday, April 22.
The airline, along with three other Boeing 747-400s, has been sold to US-based AerSale, a supplier of commercial jet engines and parts. As part of the sale, the aircraft underwent a symbolic transformation, which included the removal of Air India’s insignia and title, and the printing of a temporary American registration number – N940AS.
The airline took off from its Mumbai base to head towards its new home in the US at 10:47 AM. The pilots onboard performed the “wing wave” manoeuvre – that is linked with the aviation industry’s tradition of bidding goodbye to the retiring flights.
"Today, we wave goodbye to the first of our last 'Queen of the Skies', the B747, departing Mumbai. Thank you for an era of majestic flights. We’ll miss your iconic presence," Air India posted on social media.
Some of the aviation enthusiasts were gathered in Santa Cruz – the area in Mumbai where the aircraft base is located – to witness the departing Air India Boeing 747 for the last time.
‘Queen of the skies’
“Boeing 747 -400, the queen in the sky, stands as a remarkable achievement in aviation history combining longevity, versatility and enduring popularity,” the Hindustan Times quoted Captain Rohit Bhasin, who flew the airline for 10 years, as saying.
The aircraft was onced used to ferry top visiting dignitaries and country’s VVIPs, including prime ministers, presidents and vice presidents. Presently, these dignitaries are ferried using the Boeing 777s, which the Indian Air Force acquired in 2020.
“The aircraft was literally the queen of the sky. It was one of the jewels of Air India, as well as the Indian aviation ecosystem. Today marks a bitter-sweet day. This is really the end of an era,” said an aviation enthusiast, who reached Santa Cruz earlier in the day to witness the aircraft’s final takeoff.