Air India's Boeing 747s fly out of Mumbai airport for last time; nostalgia pour in

Air India’s last Boeing 747s, once considered queen of the skies, flew out of Mumbai international airport for the last time on April 22. The aircraft was the mainstay of the carrier’s flight operations at one point and was used for long-haul international flights.

According to a report by The Economic Times, Air India’s remaining four Boeing 747-400 airplanes have found a new owner – US-based AerSale, a supplier of aftermarket commercial jet engines and parts.

The last time Air India’s 747 took to the skies was in March 2021, in a flight between Delhi and Mumbai.

After acquiring the airline in January 2022, the Tata Group had mandated UK-based remarketing firm Skytech-AIC to sell the four remaining planes to interested parties.

The ET report further said that two of the aircrafts are likely to be converted to freighters, while the others will be disassembled for their parts.

In a post on X (formally twitter), Sisira Kanta Dash, Chief Technical officer in Air India, shared photos of the aircraft’s departure from Mumbai airport on April 22.

The queen VT-EVA , Boeing 747-400, new Reg N940AS leaving BOM-PAE.
Lot of efforts many meetings. Many people working behind the scene to make this happen .Thank you all. pic.twitter.com/hXngAw2bDF

— Sisira Kanta Dash (@SisiraKantDash) April 22, 2024

His post was shared by former Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor, who wrote, “Sad to see the end of an era. The 747s were the pinnacle of JRD’s Air India (though the airline was nationalized in the 1950s, JRD ran it till 1978). Wish one could have been retained in his honor as a museum. Alas it was not to be.”

Boeing 747 in India

Air India took the first delivery of Boeing 747 on March 22, 1971. The aircraft entered service on May 21 in the same year, with four weekly flights from India to London. It had 423 seats in a triple-class configuration.

When they were in use by the airline, the aircraft also ferried VVIPs like prime ministers, presidents and vice-presidents till the Indian Air Force (IAF) acquired two Boeing 777s in 2020, which are now used to ferry these dignitaries.

While on executive duties, Air India would convert these Boeing 747s into an executive configuration by removing some seats.

Back then, when Air India used Boeing 747s, it rebranded the aircrafts and launched it under a branding called “Your Place in the Sky.” It had also introduced a new look with the exterior aircraft flaunting silver and white with red details and windows painted as Rajasthani style arches to give an effect of ‘Jharokha’ type balconies reminiscent of the Hawa Mahal at Jaipur.

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