End Of An Era: After 40 Years Air India's 'Queen Of The Skies', Boeing 747 Bids Adieu
When Air India Boeing 747-400 VT-EVA took off from Mumbai¡¯s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport?on Monday, it?also?brought the curtains down to a glorious chapter in Indian aviation history.?Dubbed 'Queen of the skies',?Air India bid?adieu?to its Boeing 747-400 aircraft after being a part of its fleet?for over four decades.
Air India's Boeing?747-400 fleet
Air India had?a total of?four Boeing?747-400s?in its fleet which?were?deregistered in 2021 due to them being unviable economically.
Since then, they had been parked at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
According to reports, only two?of them?are in flying condition and have?been sold?to US-based AerSale, a supplier of aftermarket commercial jet engines and parts.
'Agra' leaves India for US
On Monday, one of them,?named Agra,?which?had been a part of Air India since October 1996 and pulled out of service in?2021?departed from Mumbai for the last time.
'Agra' left the Indian skies with a ¡®wing wave¡¯ as the crew bid it a final farewell.
"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 said in a post.
It landed in Everett Paine Field in Seattle later in the day where?it will be?cannibalised, stripped for spare parts.
End of an era
Many, including aviation experts and pilots emotionally recollected their experiences of flying with the queen of the skies.
¡°Sad to see the end of an era. The 747s were the pinnacle of JRD Tata¡¯s Air India¡wish one could have been retained in his?honour?as a museum,¡± "Former Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said.
"Forever in my heart, never forgotten, until my very last breath," aviation enthusiast Utkarsh Thakkar said.
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