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Planespotters in Brisbane and Canberra experienced a rare sight this week with an Air China 747-400 visiting both airports.
The aircraft, B-2472, was carrying Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, on a parliamentary visit. Arriving in Brisbane on Saturday from New Zealand, it flew to Canberra on Monday before leaving the country on Tuesday.
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While 747 passenger aircraft have all but vanished from Australia’s skies over the last few years, 747 freighters still carry cargo in and out of the country for carriers like Singapore Airlines.
The final Qantas 747-400, VH-OEJ, left Australia for Los Angeles on its final commercial flight in July 2020 before heading to the Mojave boneyard.
VH-OEJ was the last of six Boeing 747-438ERs that Qantas ordered in 2001 and the final 747 to be delivered to the airline.
OEJ, named Wunala Dreaming, was also the final Boeing 747 to be farewelled from the airline after the COVID-19 pandemic sped up the airline’s planned retirement of its iconic 747 fleet.
Boeing has stopped manufacturing the 747 altogether, with the last aircraft of the type – a 747-8 freighter bound for Atlas Air, the 1,574th 747 produced – leaving the factory in Everett in December 2022.
“For more than half a century, tens of thousands of dedicated Boeing employees have designed and built this magnificent airplane that has truly changed the world,” said Boeing’s VP of the 747 program, Kim Smith, at the time.
“We are proud that this plane will continue to fly across the globe for years to come.”
Production of the “Queen of the Skies” began in 1967 and spanned a remarkable 54 years. Upon its release, it was the world’s first twin-aisle and double-deck commercial aircraft.
Four airlines still fly passenger variants of the 747: Air China, Lufthansa, Korean Air, and Aeroflot subsidiary Rossiya.
