iscover
The final Qantas Boeing 747 that flew out of the Mojave boneyard last month will likely never take to the skies again.
New owners Kalitta Air has told Australian Aviation it purchased the 19-year-old jet, formerly registered as VH-OEJ, for spare parts to aid the maintenance of its existing 747 fleet.
It comes after the aircraft sensationally left the Mojave storage facility in California, thought to be its final resting place, to fly 3,500 kilometres to Oscoda Airport on the other side of the United States. It led to speculation the iconic Queen of the Skies could have a new lease of life flying for the air cargo airline.
Formerly registered to the Flying Kangaroo as VH-OEJ, the jet is now registered in the US to Kalitta Air as N329ZA.
The Michigan-based cargo carrier currently has a fleet of 24 active Boeing 747s, including the last 747-400 ever built by Boeing, registration N782CK, plus the ex-Qantas airframe, which is formally ‘parked’. According to the FAA registry, the jet’s US registration is valid through 31 May 2025.
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.
Its final Qantas flight, QF7474, became a major national media event in July 2020, when it flew to LAX before heading to the Mojave Desert “boneyard”.
After an emotional take-off to the tune of I Still Call Australia Home, first-leg captain Sharelle Quinn flew the aircraft over Sydney’s CBD, Harbour and beaches before heading to the HARS Museum, where she dipped its wings in a final salute to the first 747-400 housed at the attraction, VH-OJA.
As she made her way across the Pacific, Captain Quinn took the opportunity to honour the final Qantas 747 flight by drawing a 275-kilometre x 250-kilometre Qantas Kangaroo in the sky. Hundreds of thousands of Twitter and Instagram users shared Qantas’ official post of the stunt.
Farewell, #Queenoftheskies✈️Today, the last 747 in our fleet, VH-OEJ departed Australia for the final time – adding a special display en roo-te to the US?#747farewell pic.twitter.com/KXzNKhxFOH
— Qantas (@Qantas) July 22, 2020
When it finished, VH-OEJ climbed to cruising altitude and headed for Los Angeles, where it touched down at 1:23 pm after 15 hours in the air.
Comments (6)
Comments are closed.
Rob Cook
says:So sad to see it’s going to be scrapped for parts. I flew in one of these 747’s in the eighties on our holiday to England. It was my first overseas flight and thoroughly enjoyed it. So exciting.
Pete
says:Got to wonder….. there aren’t many female captains in Qantas. Yet there is always a female captain to fly nearly every major event Qantas put on. Discrimination maybe? At least they’re using Australian crew…… at the moment….
Martin
says:Pete: or that could equally be: “…there aren’t many female captains in Qantas. Discrimination maybe?”
Michael Smith
says:That’s so sad.. I’ve flown on her when she was painted in the Red Aboriginal art work from MEL over to LAX (QF93) in 2004. So she will just to be used for parts.. hmm sad.
Neil
says:What a terrible waste of such a marvellous Aircraft, that served so well for Qantas, and is sad chapter of Australian Aviation. RIP Queen of the Skies!
Warwick Etheridge
says:I had been wondering about the fate of VH-OEJ ‘Wunala Dreaming’ and just found this article.
What a pity a way was not found to preserve this aircraft, Qantas’ last B747, in Australia. A number of British Airways B747-400s have been preserved in the UK, but we could not do the same with this aircraft. Sad and a missed opportunity to preserve a piece of Australian aviation history here.
I have flown in many of Qantas’s B747s, since my first flight in the type from London Heathrow to Melbourne Tullamarine in 1972. My last flight in a B747 was with Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong to London Heathrow in 2012. As usual, the mighty ‘Jumbo’ performed the long haul flight with ease.
Lots of memories tied up with these aircraft. Gone but not forgotten.