This week, Australia said farewell to a national icon: the Qantas Boeing 747. Over the past 49 years, Qantas - once an all-747 airline - has operated almost every Boeing 747 variant that has existed. The "queen of the skies" has transported millions of passengers to destinations all over the world, including Olympic athletes and stranded Australians returning home from disaster epicentres - many years ago from Darwin after Cyclone Tracy, and most recently from Wuhan.

Current world events have resulted in an early retirement for the Qantas 747 fleet. Despite the current pandemic, Qantas has still managed to put on three excellent final joy flights for fans of the Boeing 747. In this episode, Matt speaks to some of the passengers that were on board the last ever Qantas 747 passenger flight out of Canberra on 17 July 2020.

 

Episode contents:

1:12 - Fortnightly news round-up
14:48 - The last ever Qantas Boeing 747 passenger flight departs Canberra
18:32 - Interview with Bindibuys, a passenger on the Canberra 747 joy flight
29:15 - The Customer Service Manager's emotional final speech on the last Qantas 747 passenger flight
34:50 - Ask Matt: How to redeem 500,000 Qantas points for a round-the-world trip

 

Links:

AFF on Air Discussion thread - a dedicated AFF thread to discuss the podcast and ask questions
Paul Stewart's YouTube video - Onboard the LAST EVER Qantas Boeing 747 flight - QF0747 'Jumbo farewell flight'.
How to Book a Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Reward

 

Frequent Flyer Gazette articles referenced in the fortnightly news round-up:

Velocity Reinstates More Reward Flights, Upgrades
Qantas Gifts Status Credits to Frequent Flyers
Earn Qantas Status Credits for Hotel Bookings
It’s Getting Progressively Harder to Return to Australia
Many Fuel Surcharges Remain Excessive Despite Low Oil Prices
Woolworths Rewards Launching in Tasmania on 6 August
Amex Launches “Plan It” as Qantas Partners with Afterpay
Australia is Building a New Airport in Antarctica