Many pilots relished the opportunity to fly the Boeing 747, one of the most admired and frequently acquired aircraft types by legacy airlines as early as 1970, to soar as high as 50,000 feet above sea level.
With a large, wide-body (two-aisle), and four wing-mounted engines, the aircraft’s wings soar at a high sweep angle of 37.5° for a fast and efficient cruise speed of Mach 0.84 to 0.88, depending on the variant.
It has a seating capacity of over 600 (depending on the configuration of the aircraft) in a 3–4–3 seat arrangement, the aircraft was known for its upper and lower deck interior structure.
At the time, there was none compared to the Boeing 747. It was arguably the most sought-after for long haul flights. The queen of the skies has an instantly recognizable shape that almost everybody knows.
The Boeing 747, however, is a dying breed after 50 years of active service. Airlines are switching to newer Boeing models.
Boeing 747 and Nigeria Airways
The history of Nigeria Airways cannot be chronicled without mention of the Boeing 747. Nigeria Airways had 61 fleet which included Airbus A310, BAC 1-11, BAC Vickers VC-10, Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 767, Douglas DC-8 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10
With a fleet size of 25, Nigeria Airways’ largest aircraft type was the Boeing 737. The second highest fleet on Nigeria Airways was Boeing 747 aircraft type with 15 fleets.
Some of the Boeing 747 on Nigeria Airways’ fleet include Boeing 747-286B with registration no: EP-IAG active from September 1982 to October 1982; 747-283BSF with registration no: SE-DFZ, active from June 1983 to March 1987; and 747-271C with registration no: N741TV, active from September 1980 to September 1981.
Nigerian 747 pilots share experiences
The first Boeing 747 flight in Nigeria was operated in September 1986. Francis Adegoke, one of the engineers that operated the flight, told BusinessDay that the first set of crew trained to fly the airplane were Captains Allwell Brown, Obianyor, Thahal and Dele Ore.
Adegoke said the first officers were Poloni, Mordi, Olumogba and Quadri. The flight engineers were Williams, Abdurahman, Adegoke and Sunmonu.
“The aircraft was returned back to the owner in March 1988. The last crew that flew the airplane with Nigerian Airways were Dele Ore, First Officer Ogborgu and himself as flight engineer.
Jide Oladele Ore was one of the captains that not only flew the Boeing 747 but trained young pilots on the aircraft.
In an interview with BusinessDay Ore told BusinessDay that the Boeing 747 that was used by Nigerian Airways at the time was leased from Scandinavian Airlines, flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
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Ore, who also commanded the presidential fleet of aircraft, said the Boeing 747 was a passenger and cargo plane with a capacity to accommodate as much as 800 passengers and 30 tons of cargo.
“The upper deck of Boeing 747 carries VIPs with their crew positioned in the aircraft. The upper deck makes the Boeing 747 unique,” he said.
He said that Nigeria leased all 747 aircraft it operated but never owned them.
“We lost the aircraft because of the level of rot in the system. We did not utilise the aircraft enough to enable us save enough money to own the aircraft, so we lost them and they were returned to their owners,” Ore said.
He said at the time, Nigeria Airways operated the Boeing 747s on the Lagos-New York route, Lagos- London route and Lagos Saudi Arabia routes, adding that the aircraft operated two weekly to these routes and always recorded full flights.
For the Lagos-London route, Ore said the DC10 aircraft was alternated with the Boeing 747s.
He hinted that Nigerian Airways also code shared with several airlines around the world, as the capacity of the Boeing 747 enabled the airline to distribute passengers to various parts of the world.
Jonathan Baba Ibrahim, one of the pilots that first flew the Boeing 747 in Nigeria said Nigeria Airways had over 30 aircraft in Nigeria, some of which were Boeing 747s but before the liquidation of the airline, the number of aircraft dropped to three.
“Most of the aircraft were sold by the regime of the day and never accounted for. We had several aircraft. They wanted to throw away the propeller aircraft to buy the big jets, some of which were the Boeing 747s,” Ibrahim said.
He said one of the problems Nigeria Airways had was that it did not think of the future and employed executives that lacked experience after it sacked the professionals.
Any future for 747s in Nigeria?
BusinessDay’s investigations show that a few airlines in Nigeria still have the Boeing 747s on their fleet. Some of these airlines include Kabo Air, Max Air and Azman Air.
These airlines however use the Boeing 747 to carry out hajj operations.
For instance Kabo Air, a Nigerian charter airline headquartered in Kano State still uses its Boeing 747 aircraft for hajj operations.
While the airline initially offered charter services to government officials, it stopped in 2002 to focus solely on Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.
At some point, Kabo Air and its later competitor IRS Airlines dominated the northern aviation industry. The airline was at the peak of its power in 2002.
At a time, the Airline operated 47 planes in total including; 3 Boeing 737-200 (1983–1986), 11 Boeing 747-100 (1993–2003), and 9 Boeing 747-200 (1982–2008) amongst others.
In January, 31st, 2023, Boeing delivered the final 747 ever made, a 747-8F (freighter), to Atlas Air, the world’s largest operator of 747s, with 51. The delivery closes the door on more than five decades of Boeing’s history.
The 747 is one of the most iconic aircraft in aviation history, whose variants include passenger, freighter, business, military, and civil aircraft. Nicknamed the ‘Queen of the Skies,’ the 747 was the original jumbo jet. After a more than 50-year production run, the final aircraft rolled off the production line last month on December 6, 2022.
According to an article by Simple Flying, the Boeing 747 has been a feature of the British Airways fleet for over 50 years. However, the airline’s owner IAG revealed that early retirement of the type is under consideration, potentially ending half a century of history.
Across the aviation industry, the Boeing 747 is seen as an icon. While maybe not quite as iconic as Concorde, the queen of the skies has an instantly recognizable shape that almost everybody knows.
However, as twin-jets lead the way with higher efficiency and lower emissions, the Boeing 747 is sadly becoming a dying breed. Indeed, Boeing delivered just seven new 747s in 2019.
Brief history of 747s
The story of British Airways’ Boeing 747s starts back in 1970 before BOAC merged with BEA to form the airline that we now know. In April 1970, BOAC took delivery of its first Boeing 747-100. The aircraft was the 23rd to be built by Boeing, according to its line number.
Over the next three years, BOAC took delivery of a further 14 aircraft. By the time the 15th aircraft was delivered in December 1973, Boeing had reached the line number 222. None of these aircraft remain flying. Most have been scrapped, with a few having been stored. British Airways’ first Boeing 747 left the fleet in October 1998.
The 15 Boeing 747s that BOAC had taken delivery of between 1970 and 1973 were transferred to British Airways on April 1st, 1974, following BOAC’s merger with BEA. In November 1974, the British Airways that we know today took delivery of its first 747. This aircraft was registered as G-AWNP and was transferred to Nigeria’s Kabo Air in 2001. The airline took delivery of four 747-100s, giving a total fleet size of 19.
Only one of British Airways’ Boeing 747-100 was involved in a hull loss during its time with the airline. On February 18th, 1991, G-AWND was blown up in Kuwait during the Gulf War.
The Boeing 747-200
On June 22nd, 1977, British Airways took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200. The airline operated a total of 24 passenger Boeing 747-200 aircraft that were delivered between 1977 and 1988. Not all of these aircraft were delivered to British Airways, however. Indeed, British Airways was the fourth operator of its last -200 to be delivered, G-NIGB.
The Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is the British Airways 747 that most people know today. Indeed, it is the only type still in service with the British flag carrier.
The airline’s first 747-400 was delivered in June 1989. The aircraft, G-BNLA, flew with the airline for almost 30 years until 2018 when it was scrapped in Victorville, California. British Airways operated a total of 57 Boeing 747-400 aircraft. This means that, in total, the airline has operated 100 passenger 747s and one cargo 747.
The 747’s future
The Boeing 747 has been a part of British Airways for half of its 100-year history. However, this chapter of the book is set to close shortly. The airline’s entire 747 fleet had been earmarked for retirement from 2020 till 2024. It was due to be replaced with the new Boeing 777X.
While most of the airline’s Concorde fleet can now be found at museums across the world, most of the airline’s 747s will likely be scrapped. Hopefully, at least one of the British queen of the skies can be saved to become a museum piece like Concorde.
