2023 Highlights: Atlas Air Special 747 Flight Plan for Final Delivery

Another major highlight from this year was when Atlas Air unveiled the flight plan for the special 747 final delivery flight.

During the final Boeing 747 delivery ceremony, Atlas Air announced that it will fly a special “747” flight plan on the delivery flight.

N863GT will depart from Paine Field tomorrow and paint “747” in the skies for the world to see.

Atlas Air CEO John Dietrich said the following when the aircraft was revealed:

“She’s a darn good-looking airplane… An incredible honor for me”.

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The image above highlights the route that the aircraft will take, which provides a fitting tribute to an aircraft program that has been around for over half a century.

The Final 747 Delivery Route: A Tribute to Joe Sutter…

Within this delivery ceremony, many tributes were made to Joe Sutter, the brainchild behind the aircraft type all of those years ago.

Earl Exum of Pratt & Whitney said tonight: “Joe Sutter, of the 747, would be proud”, relating to how far the 747 has come in the over 1,500 units sold in its lifetime.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal addressed the massive crowd also and paid significant tribute to Bill Boeing and Joe Sutter in emphasizing how far Boeing has come over the life of the 747 and other projects.

It remains clear that this does mark the end of an amazing era in jet travel through the final Boeing 747 Delivery Flight, with there now to be the focus on twin-engined widebodies and even as far as twin-engined narrowbodies.

Through innovations such as the 787, 777X, Airbus’ A321XLR, A350, and A330neo aircraft, it remains clear that the beginning of significant change is only just beginning.

But for now, this is a great time to reflect on how far the industry has come since the creation of flight under the Wright Brothers, all of the way to how the Queen of the Skies made the earth a smaller place.

#ThankYou747

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