How the Boeing 747 in Hawaii upended travel and brought costs down by 50%. The rest is fascinating history.
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49 thoughts on “Boeing 747 In Hawaii | Amazing Half-Century”
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How the Boeing 747 in Hawaii upended travel and brought costs down by 50%. The rest is fascinating history.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Comments are closed.
Pan Am was the premier carrier to Hawaii when civility and class was reflected by the travelers. The airline is missed today but so are the respectful and well mannered passengers.
I was in the Air Force from 1970 until 1974. I was stationed in Hawaii from 1971 until 1973. I flew into Hawaii from California on a 707 in August of 1971. I flew from Hawaii to O’Hare on a red eye in 1972 to visit my parents in Washington, DC. It was a 707 which was struck by lightning mid-flight between Honolulu and Chicago. On the way back I flew through Dallas Love Field. The plane out of Dallas was one of the first Braniff “Flying Colors” 747s. There were more crew than passengers and the food and drink were outstanding. When I returned to the mainland for the last time, it was in First Class on a 747, but 747s to and from the islands had become common by then. But the food and drinks in First Class were awesome.
After completing military basic and advanced training, I returned to Hilo, Hawaii for a weeks furlough and to get my beautiful, pregnant wife and year old son. We had to get back to California where my first duty assignment was located. This was 1971 and whenever a military member/family travels on a military-discounted ticket (which is all we could afford with help from family), the member was required to travel in class-a uniform. I think the flight originated in Honolulu and stopped in Hilo before returning to the mainland. After all the passengers were seated, a stewardess (as they were called back then) asked if we wanted to sit in first class. Of course we obliged. We were pampered throughout the flight!
Pan Am forever in our hearts and memories. The finest service!
Great history unfortunately for Hawaii I have begun taking my money to Florida.
I feel welcomed by the locals and the government as a whole is very welcoming.
$20,000 a year added to the Florida economy.
I agree you have an excellent history there. I have to mention that I always preferred the 747 to the Airbus because of its backup systems. Airbus is 100% fly-by-wire so if electronics goes, flight control goes with it. We were all very nervous about the fly-by-wire concept when first introduced. Now we have drive by wire cars (the accelerator and everything but the steering wheel, that is). That would be a good question for the readers. Do you trust fly-by-wire?
Loved your history of the 747s. I flew for 35 years as a flight attendant for first Cp Air then Canadian airlines and finally Air Canada! Worked alot of those Yvr to Ams plus Hnl from Vancouver. Loved the spacious feeling onboard.That aircraft went to Hong Kong…Japan…everywhere! Loved it!
First 747 was a -400 on SQ SFO-HKG-HKG-CGK. Only 747 to Hawaii was a -300 also on SQ SIN-TPE-HNL-LAX. Would’ve loved to have flown on a PA or TW 747 to Hawaii.
Worthy of note that the USA is producing 2 VC-25B’s based on the 747 8i Platform (assuming it is not canceled by this or any future White House incumbent) whereas no World Leader in Europe or outside has opted to fit out an Airbus A380 for Head of State use. Interesting. The Vc-25B’s will probably be around for a long time to come.
I watched the first 747 land at Honolulu and taxi to the ramp.
It was flown by a Boeing crew and had dozens of flags on the nose. I have slides somewhere.
I was flying Air Force C-141 Starlifters, mostly between California and Vietnam.
Korean Air still flies the 748i to Honolulu from Seoul. Lufthansa and Air China are the only other passenger airlines that have it.
My first 747 flight was from San Francisco to Honolulu in 1982. I couldn’t believe how big it was both outside and inside. Since then I have flown over 1.5 million miles around the globe in lots of different planes but my favorite is still the 747. I haven’t yet experienced the A380…who knows…will my favorite change? I suspect not because the 747 is part of so many memories. Including four round-the-world trips and one trip from Taipei to Hong Kong in the cockpit of a Cathay Pacific 747…obviously before 911.
What a great plane!!
One of my earliest memories of flying is having a meltdown because I lost a stuffed animal in the bin on the upper deck of a TWA 747 STL to either HNL or KOA. I was also apparently very good at falling asleep just at the right time to be carried down the spiral staircase from the upper deck.
I was a flight attendant in the early 70s and was lucky enough to be able to work some flights on a 747. They were indeed luxury flights. Oh to have the good ole days back!!!
Forgot to mention, our flight was on a Pan AM 747. Also enjoyed the first class lounge upstairs. Thank-you Pan Am!
Remember flying TWA 747 from STL to HNL in the 90’s. The check in at the gate was always a shambles with so many people. I also remember the foot stools in First used to collapse. TWA had sunk to rock bottom by then. The 747 though was always my favorite and so sad to see them relegated to a few 8i’s with Lufthansa, Korean Air and a Chinese carrier. It was a beautiful plane and a joy to fly. The larger size led to less bumping around in light chop and it felt so spacious. The 777, 787 and A350’s are OK but they definitely traded passenger experience value for cost cutting.
Your statement saying if you ever see another 747 in Hawaii it will be cargo, is untrue. Korean Airlines flies a 747-800 from Seoul on a daily basis right now.
My very first 747 flight was Honolulu-LAX on Continental in 1973.I’ve also flown Qantas, United, TWA and Pan Am 747’s to/from HNL. I flew Hawaii Express numerous times between LAX and HNL but it was always on DC-10’s. I didn’t know they had 747’s
Air Force 1 still flies to Hawaii.
It was both London and Europe but never Hawaii.
My husband & I had the absolute pleasure of flying United’s 747, flight Heavy 1, Chicago to Honolulu,Heavy2,Hon to Chicago about 35 times.We belonged to mileage plus so we were able to upgrade to 1st class. We dressed up and felt our vacation began we boarded our flight.champagne and orchids everywhere,including on dinner plates, in bathrooms.Flight attendants treated you like royalty and were so friendly. And the food…oh, the food!So comfortable, the sometime 11 hr flight was a total joy!
We consider ourselves so blessed to have been a part of the 747’s history! Mahalo United, for the wonderful memories!
I was 10 years old when I experienced my first 747 flight, which was with SAS between JFK and Copenhagen in December 1971. The plane was a 747-283B “Huge Viking” (pronounced “Hoo-geh Vee-king”) (reg. SE-DDL). It was a very fascinating experience on that first flight, especially during the takeoff, feeling the power of all four Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A turbofan engines with the smooth hum as the airliner climbed into the night sky and reaching cruising altitude where the engines would have a soft gentle roar. We returned home on the very same plane in January 1972. Since then, I have flown many of them. More than any other widebody I’ve flown.
The Pioneer and historic
Pan American Airways, we miss it
with those luxury services .
Thanks for bringing it up.
Looking forward to see more.
✈✈
My first 747 flight began in April 1983 with a NW 727-200 flight from PDX-SEA the night before. There were 6 people on that flight, including my 3 other family members, stayed at the Red Lion hotel SEATAC, and stayed up all night watching SEA flight activity. Morning flight was SEA-HNL on a 747-200. Beautiful flight, window seat, insane takeoff. Miss the 727, 747, and also the DC-10. Will be sad when there are no more 757’s. Those are my fave planes of all time.
When having mileage meant something, I was able to fly first class on a NW 747 when they flew nonstop HNL-MSP. It was an 8-hour flight but it was the best! Meal service on china, wine and cheese for a snack and endless cocktails. The glory daze of flying.
NASA had their 747SP (ned “SOFIA”) drop into HNL last week around 11pm (Wednesday night). Last time she’ll ever come through town sadly.
Way back in 79 my ex, son and I snagged a real deal when AA started flying from Honolulu. Well, they had to lease a Braniff 747 for our flight. It was nearly empty and an awesome flight. The flight attendant was a bit unfamiliar with this particular aircraft. Poor thing couldn’t find the light switch!
Such a wonderful and iconic aircraft!! Regarding any other 747 flights to Hawaii, I bet some still fly there, as freighter (e.g. Atlas Air, which is still taking delivery of 3 more 747-8Fs this year…which will be the final new 747s to roll off Boeing’s Everett, WA line; except the two future “Air Force 1” planes for the USAF…)
Atlast, Kalitta, UPS and some other randoms fly 747s into HNL still. Heck, laat week NASA flew their 747SP (named SOFIA) into HNL.
Back in the day, I flew United to Hawaii from LA. I was in first class on this flight on a 747 (my fav aircraft of all time), but have no taste for that kind of food. I asked the flight attendant what was being served in coach – pasta; my favorite. So I asked if I could switch with someone in coach. She made the trade and I’m sure I made someone else’s day. I know it made my day!
And my most recent flight was ORD to FRA in F. Lufthansa. 40th anniversary trip. Another great flight!
Honeymoon on United 1979. First class too!! LAX to HNL. The upstairs section at that time was just a lounge. No real seats to speak of. Great flight.
I always wanted to fly on a 747, but was never fortunate enough to do so. But while staying a couple of nights in the Schiphol Airport hotel, I can tell you I have Never seen so many 747’s! Not
Even in a magazine or movie! That was in 2004. Loved watching them taxi and takeoff. Amazing beasts of aircraft. Gorgeous!
Thanks for this blast from the past! I was privileged to go to work for Pan Am in 1970 to train for servicing an anticipated new 747 flight from Honolulu to Manila. We were privileged to see the inside of the plane as we trained for the new flight. Unfortunately, the government did not approve the flight so it never happened. However 5 years later we were living on the Big Island and Continental offered 747 service. We were moving to the mainland with our two and 2/3 keikis. The manager of the Continental station in Hilo had a daughter in our daycare and to help us out said we could take extra baggage with us for $5 per item. We ended up taking 35 pieces at a terrific savings. The flight was the most comfortable we’d ever flown.
I flew the 747 on Pan Am, Lufthansa, and Air France. An amazing airplane. I recall the first time being incredulous how cavernous the cabin(s) was. Always wanted to ride upstairs or at least peek. Never happened. Glad I had the experience. Thanks for the reminiscing.
My first trip to Hawaii was on a 747 in 1975 on Pan Am. I was 15 and flying to meet my parents who were already there. The time flew by (sorry, old pun) as I was taken by crew to visit various parts of the plane- including the cockpit! In the upstairs bar a friendly older couple even bought me a virgin Mai Tai! I had so much fun, I wasn’t sure if Hawaii was going to be able to top my experience! Yes, of course, it did.
Aloha BOH,
As a previous America West Airlines employee, America West Airlines did (in the late 80’s, early 90’s) fly a B747 from PHX to HNL for a little while.
Mahalo!
Hi Eric.
Thanks for mentioning that.
Aloha.
Royal Air Morac JFK to Casablanca. Such an experience for a small town girl traveling to Africa for a semester. The sheer size of the aircraft! Wow! I just traveled to Maui from LAX and was looking for some 747’s waiting for takeoff but didn’t see any. I miss those big old aircrafts.
My wife and I honeymooned in Hawaii in 1983 on a Northwest Airlines 747 (picked up at their hub in MSP). While there I interviewed for a fantastic job and we moved to Oahu the following month. Being from Chicago, the best Hawaii 747 was UAL 1 going to and UAL 2 coming back. We learned a lot of tricks such as when we used miles to upgrade (only 2 classes then) we received a 20% bonus for 1st Class and ORD is 8400 miles roundtrip, we earned another upgrade with each trip! Also there were 16 seats upstairs that we quickly booked each time. We had our own flight attendant! They closed that loophole eventually. So many cozy trips sleeping up there. We talked about maybe some day they will have beds in 1st Class? Lo and behold, voila!
Look at the size of those seats!! Men actually have room for their shoulders – how many are 34″ chest to fit in a 17″ wide seat? And how about ‘man-spread’ – how many of those knees stay in the 17″ in many airline seats today without encroaching on the neighbors?
Oh, for the good old days… 747 was great
My one and only 747 flight was from Chicago to Los Angeles. I just finished my jet engine technical training in January 1972 and was heading home for leave. I was wearing my Class A uniform and about to board when a passenger asked me what seat I was assigned to. Once the pilot removed the seatbelt sign this man came back and asked if I wanted to have a drink in 1st class. It was a marvel to see how beautiful this cabin was. I’ll never forget that trip.
My 2nd flight to Hawaii was back when I was around 18 years old, before deregulation. It was on a PCS government fare, so the upgrade to 1st class was only around $200. This was all the money in the world to me back then but I did it, and no regrets. I remember the Piano bar upstairs, the movie downstairs on the big screen with candy and popcorn served. A great memory and I’m glad I did it.
In current times, the sleeper seats on the American Airlines 777-300, 777-200, 787-9 and 787-8 are the real deal with the International hard product. Glad I have EP status, it helps with upgrades. Service is hit and miss. The Delta One product out of Atlanta is excellent on their A350. United flies a domestic 1st class on their 777, not great.
My first 747 flight was World Airways in the 1970’s. The last was KLM in the mid 2010’s.
Enjoy your updates, always read them. We were on the last flight from the mainland OAK-LIH before Kauai was shut down due to covid. We went to Hawaii 3 times during covid, paid more for the tests that the tickets!
Hi Leonard.
Thank you. Appreciate your input. Jeff hit a World Airways 747 as well. Look forward to hearing from you again.
Aloha.
I flew the 747 in the early 70’s with British airways at 280.00 Canadian return!! Seemed like a lot back then. My friends and I sat in the upper level and since it was our first flight ever, thought it was all quite normal! Those were the days!
Charlie
My first 747 flight was on Pan AM in 1980, flying from SFO to Auckland, NZ with a midnight connection in Honilulu. Other notable 747 trips include Tokyo, Hong Kong, and the Pan AM milk run from JFK to Nairobi and everywhere in between. Really enjoyed NW Orient across the Pacific many times, a class act.
My first of 37 vacations in Hawaii was in first class on a TWA 747 and I continued to do so until American took them over. Now, whether it is on American or Hawaian, it will never be the same as that unbelievable experience.