All Nippon Airways (ANA) has retired its final Boeing 747SR-100, the first aircraft to carry over 500 passengers.
The aircraft's final flight (NH 624) touched down at Tokyo's Haneda Airport at 13:59 today after arriving from the southern city of Kagoshima. The 747SR-100, dubbed "Super Jumbo", entered into service with ANA in 1979, when it was configured in a world first all-economy 500 seats (pictured in original livery above).
To mark the event, ANA ground crew and cabin attendants wore 1970s uniforms and passengers were given 1970s-style boarding cards in addition to magnetic stripe cards (pictured below).
Passengers were invited to write sayonara, or adieu, messages on the airframe as they alighted in Tokyo.
At its peak in 1989, ANA's 747SR-100 fleet comprised 23 aircraft. The carrier now operates a fleet of 23 Boeing 747-400s, 10 of which are configured with high-density cabins as “-400 Domestics” for the airline’s Japanese routes.
Source: Flight International
