After the crew prepared the aircraft for the flight, they came out to the gate and posed for pictures as a group and with passengers. (BTW, the banner in the background was made by yours truly using pictures of the 747-100, -200, and -300 taken at HNL. I used many pictures I personally took, but did get a couple of pictures from je89_w and from work).
This is the lei made by the Passenger Service section and draped over JA812J by the Maintenance Engineers, who can be seen at the bottom securing the lei.
This banner was held by the JAL employees as they waved goodbye to the aircraft and passengers.
JAL employees waving goodbye to the aircraft and passengers during pushback.
JA812J slowly making its way past Gate 27 during pushback.
JA812J taxiing out for takeoff.
At the gate, there was live Hawaiian music and hula, photo opportunities with JAL employees, and as mentioned above, with the crew. Each passenger was given a hand-made card with an origami crane inside when they entered the gate area and a postcard during boarding. Many of the children were also stickers of the 747-300. The proclamation by the Governor was read by the state's Tourism Liason, Marsha Weinert.
5 comments:
Thanks for your pictures and words. Times are changing for sure.
Nice job, ha763! Thanks for taking the time to make the banner and incorporating your pictures as well as those of je89_w. I probably have pictures somewhere of JAL's first 747 in the tsurumaru livery that I took when I was a kid. Thanks for documenting this end of an era...
Great report & photos!
I was hoping to get more pictures at the gate, but was busy passing out some of the items to the passengers. I actually had to run away from my post just to get the picture of the crew.
It's sad to see 747s phased out of passenger service. I feel safer flying long distances on a plane that has 4 engines vs. any of those etops 2 engine jets.
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