Cathay Pacific Retires 747 After 37 Years of Service

by Enoch

Designed in the 1960s, the Boeing 747 entered service in 1970 with Pan Am. It was dubbed the “Queen of the Skies,” and even today, many people still consider this title to hold true. It is one of the most recognizable aircrafts, and I am a little sad to see more and more airlines retiring it from service.

After having them in their fleet for 37 years, Cathay Pacific is the latest airline to retire their 747 from passenger service. A born and raised Hong Konger, this is especially sentimental to me; the Cathay Pacific 747 was the first plane I’ve ever flown on. When Hong Kong moved its airport in 1997, the Cathay 747 was the last to depart the old Kai Tak airport, and the first to arrive at the new Chek Lap Kok location.

The final flights will take passengers from Hong Kong to Tokyo-Haneda and back.

  • September 30: CX 542, Hong Kong to Haneda, 4:25 pm to 9:35 pm
  • October 1: CX 543, Haneda to Hong Kong, 10:35 am to 2:10 pm
Cathay Pacific 747 takes off by Lasse Fuss, used with permission

Cathay Pacific 747 Takes Off

The flight from Hong Kong to Haneda still has a few Business Class seats left, as well as a good number of Economy seats. On the other hand, there is no availability in premium cabins for the final flight from Haneda to Hong Kong, as I’m sure the company is saving them for executives and important guests. However, there are still plenty of seats available in Economy for booking.

At least 9 seats available for sale in Economy for Cathay Pacific's Final 747 Passenger Flight

At least 9 seats available for sale in Economy for Cathay Pacific’s Final 747 Passenger Flight

While the 747 will retire from passenger service, there will actually still be 747s in Cathay Pacific’s cargo fleet. Cathay Pacific is the 4th largest cargo airline by weight of freight carried, behind FedEx, Emirates, and UPS.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Related Articles

4 comments

MarkM September 6, 2016 - 10:22 pm

In fact, they just started with a new 747-800 which should be in and out of HKG for the next couple decades.

Reply
David September 7, 2016 - 1:51 am

@MarkM Those 747-8s are for cargo operations only…. so for passengers like us would probably be on it so it pretty much means nothing.

Reply
David September 7, 2016 - 1:52 am

typo *so passengers like us would probably never be on it

Reply
Phoenix September 8, 2016 - 12:05 am

This is sentimental to me too. I immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong on a Cathay 747-200 back in the striped green tail days. Good thing they’re sticking around albeit hauling freight.

Reply

Leave a Comment