18 January 2012, Singapore – On 6 April 2012, Singapore will operate a commemorative flight between Singapore and Hong Kong to mark the retirement of the Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747 after almost 40 years of service. This flight will be the airline’s last commercial passenger service with the B747.
Replacing flights SQ 860 and SQ 863 which are normally operated with Airbus A330-300s, flights SQ747 and SQ748 will be operated with the B747-400.
SIA will be expecting more than 300 commercial passengers, employees who have worked on the aircraft throughout its storied history, as well as a group of underprivileged children and media. The commemorative flights will have an extended flying time of one hour so that passengers can be treated to a unique inflight experience including specially crafted meal services and inflight entertainment. Limited edition B747 memorabilia will also be given to customers.
First Class customers will be provided with an additional experience to tour the Airline’s cabin crew training facilities and B747-400 flight simulator in Singapore.
Tickets to the special flights are now open for sale. Check out photos of the interior of the Cabin we recently captured on board 9V SPQ at the Singapore Airshow 2012.
Flight times on 6 April 2012
SQ 747 – Departs Singapore at 8.30am arriving in Hong Kong at 1.15pm
SQ 748 – Departs Hong Kong at 2.45pm arriving in Singapore at 7.30pm
In 1973, SIA received its first B747-200 and by 2003, the Group had a record 51 B747s which comprised 39 B747-400s and 12 B747-400 Freighters. Today, there are three B747-400 passenger aircraft remaining in service while SIA Cargo operates 13 B747-400 Freighters.
Milestones
3 Sep 1973 – Delivery of first two B747-200s
1 Oct 1973 – First B747-200 flight from Singapore to Tokyo via Hong Kong and Taipei
28 Apr 1983 – Delivery of first B747-300, nicknamed ‘Big Top’
29 Oct 1984 – First non-stop flight from London to Singapore
18 Mar 1989 – Delivery of first B747-400, known as ‘MEGATOP 747’
27 Mar 1989 – First airline to operate commercial flight across Pacific Ocean with MEGATOP 747
29 May 1989 – First MEGATOP 747 non-stop Singapore-London flights
15 Apr 1992 – Personal Cinema Systems introduced on long-haul flights, commencing with MEGATOP 747 on Singapore-Tokyo route
14 Oct 1993 – Delivery of Boeing’s 1,000th B747; SIA’s 21st MEGATOP 747
29 Jan 1994 – Became world’s largest B747-400 operator with 23rd jumbo
21 Apr 1995 – Unveiled world’s most advanced inflight entertainment system, KrisWorld, on two MEGATOP 747s
30 Mar 1998 – Introduced fully-reclining seats, also known as SkySuites, in First Class cabins of MEGATOP 747s
17 Aug 2001 – Unveiled SpaceBed, biggest Business Class bed in the sky, on MEGATOP 747
31 Mar 2003 – B747 fleet grows to a record 51 aircraft, comprising 39 B747-400 passenger aircraft and 12 B747-400 Freighters
25 Mar 2012 – SIA’s last regular commercial B747-400 flight to be operated from Melbourne to Singapore
6 April 2012 – Commemorative flights SQ747 and SQ748 to mark retirement of B747 from passenger fleet after more than 38 years
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