Just got this via E mail from Delta.

Basically, as we already know, the last commercial flight on the DL 747 is on 12/17, ICN-DTW. Then, on 12/18, there will be a hangar party in DTW. On the same day it flies from DTW-SEA where there will be another hangar party. On 12/19 it will fly from SEA-ATL for another hangar party and the final farewell flight will be on 12/20 from ATL-MSP, also MSP will host a hangar party. All flights are open to employees and to folks like you and me who want to bid on two Delta One seats and to participate in one of the hangar parties. More info below. bidding starts at 40,000 skymiles which gets you two Delta One tickets and entry to the hangar party. DTW is 15,000 miles which only includes the hangar party since there is no flight.

Delta will take the 747 on an employee farewell tour from Detroit to Seattle on Dec. 18, Seattle to Atlanta on Dec. 19 and Atlanta to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Dec. 20.
Customers can bid for a spot on these farewell flights via SkyMiles Experiences using their SkyMiles.
Employees and retirees can purchase a seat on these flights on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at noon ET Nov. 20 at a discounted rate, with all proceeds going to the Airloom Project, the organization behind the 747 Experience exhibit at the Delta Flight Museum.
The 747 will fly a handful of sports team and ad-hoc charter flights through Dec. 31.
Delta will fly its final 747 to its retirement place in Arizona in early January. This ferry flight will not be open to passengers.
Delta will be celebrating the iconic and revolutionary 747 throughout December in all of its channels and encourages customers, enthusiasts and employees to share their own tributes and remembrances using the #DL747Farewell hashtag. 

Official itinerary and schedule:

(DTW-SEA)— Flight departs DTW 12/18/2017 at 7:00am, arrives SEA at 1pm
Delta-hosted Farewell Tour Hangar Party (SEA) Monday, December 18, 2017 at 5:00pm - 8:00pm

(SEA-ATL) — Flight departs SEA 12/19/2017 at 6:00pm, arrives ATL at 1:45pm
Delta-hosted Farewell Tour Hangar Party (ATL) Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 5:00pm - 8:00pm

(ATL-MSP) — Flight departs ATL 12/20/2017 at 11:00am, arrives MSP at 12:45pm
Delta-hosted Farewell Tour Hangar Wrap Party (MSP) Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 4:00pm - 7:00pm

I'm guessing that there is a typo in the date field for SEA-ATL in that it should read; departs SEA at 6:00 AM and not 6:00 PM?

jumbojet wrote:

(DTW-SEA)— Flight departs DTW 12/18/2017 at 7:00am, arrives SEA at 1pm

Those times don't quite look right.

Sightseer wrote:

jumbojet wrote:

(DTW-SEA)— Flight departs DTW 12/18/2017 at 7:00am, arrives SEA at 1pm

Those times don't quite look right.

your right, neither does that one. I caught a mistake on the SEA-ATL flight. I copy and pasted right from the delta webpage listing the flight times. Unless of course, its gonna do some loops around Paine Field. It is after all, a farewell/party flight.

I know that fuel efficiency, age, and maintainance are big factors in this....but do they have to retire the 747?

fsxfan38 wrote:

I know that fuel efficiency, age, and maintainance are big factors in this....but do they have to retire the 747?

It is sad to see the 747 go, but the FAA mandated fuel tank innerting for 2018 and it looks like DL choose to not invest that money.

Lightsaber

I'm all for modernization of fleets, but aesthetically, modern jetliners are so vanilla. They more or less look so similar to one another...Only slight variations on the standard Airbus A300/Boeing 767 framework. At least the 747, DC-10, MD-11, and L-1011 looked unique.

Maybe one day they'll be a widebody jet with a T-tail and rear mounted engine layout....At least it would be something different.

jumbojet wrote:

Just got this via E mail from Delta.

Basically, as we already know, the last commercial flight on the DL 747 is on 12/17, ICN-DTW. Then, on 12/18, there will be a hangar party in DTW. On the same day it flies from DTW-SEA where there will be another hangar party. On 12/19 it will fly from SEA-ATL for another hangar party and the final farewell flight will be on 12/20 from ATL-MSP, also MSP will host a hangar party. All flights are open to employees and to folks like you and me who want to bid on two Delta One seats and to participate in one of the hangar parties. More info below. bidding starts at 40,000 skymiles which gets you two Delta One tickets and entry to the hangar party. DTW is 15,000 miles which only includes the hangar party since there is no flight.

Delta will take the 747 on an employee farewell tour from Detroit to Seattle on Dec. 18, Seattle to Atlanta on Dec. 19 and Atlanta to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Dec. 20.
Customers can bid for a spot on these farewell flights via SkyMiles Experiences using their SkyMiles.
Employees and retirees can purchase a seat on these flights on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at noon ET Nov. 20 at a discounted rate, with all proceeds going to the Airloom Project, the organization behind the 747 Experience exhibit at the Delta Flight Museum.
The 747 will fly a handful of sports team and ad-hoc charter flights through Dec. 31.
Delta will fly its final 747 to its retirement place in Arizona in early January. This ferry flight will not be open to passengers.
Delta will be celebrating the iconic and revolutionary 747 throughout December in all of its channels and encourages customers, enthusiasts and employees to share their own tributes and remembrances using the #DL747Farewell hashtag. 

Just out of curiosity, what level of status do you have with DL that got you this email? I have status with DL, but I was interested to know which tier they’d notify.

Looks like DL is charging its own employees to fly on one of these farewell flights. At a discount and all proceeds go to charity. United didn't do that. United had a bidding process but didn't charge. Thoughts on this?

Rather anti-climactic, if you ask me.

Just out of curiosity, what level of status do you have with DL that got you this email? I have status with DL, but I was interested to know which tier they’d notify.

Given the rather colloquial tone of the email, it sounds like an internal email addressed to employees.

777PHX wrote:

Rather anti-climactic, if you ask me.

Just out of curiosity, what level of status do you have with DL that got you this email? I have status with DL, but I was interested to know which tier they’d notify.

Given the rather colloquial tone of the email, it sounds like an internal email addressed to employees.

Nope. Just need to subscribe to Delta News. I'm not a DL employee, just a fanboy.

777PHX wrote:

Rather anti-climactic, if you ask me.

I'm sure it's disappointing to employees and retirees in some of the hubs, especially ex-NW employees at JFK.

IPFreely wrote:

777PHX wrote:

Rather anti-climactic, if you ask me.

I'm sure it's disappointing to employees and retirees in some of the hubs, especially ex-NW employees at JFK.

Gosh, if only they had a way of flying for free to any of those hubs to participate...

Flight times have been fixed.

12/18/2017: 747 flight DTW-SEA departs DTW at 7:00 AM and arrives SEA at 1:00 PM. SEA Hangar Party is from 5 PM to 8 PM.
12/19/2017: 747 flight SEA-ATL departs SEA at 6:00 AM (OUCH!!) and arrives ATL at 1:45 PM. ATL Hangar party is from 5:00 to 8:00
12/20/2017: 747 flight ATL-MSP departs ATL at 11:00 AM and arrives MSP at 12:45 PM. This is billed as the farewell tour hangar wrap party. The time is from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Also, DTW is getting a Hangar Party on Sunday, December 17th from 5 PM to 8 PM. Bidding on the DTW party starts at 15,000 miles.

Each farewell flight (plus hangar party) bidding starts at 40,000 miles. Winning bid gets 2 Delta One tickets and 2 tickets to the hangar party,

You need to be logged into Delta.com to see the bidding. Here is the direct link,

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US ... ences.html

IPFreely wrote:

777PHX wrote:

Rather anti-climactic, if you ask me.

I'm sure it's disappointing to employees and retirees in some of the hubs, especially ex-NW employees at JFK.

Three of the four cities are former NW hubs as it is, not original DL hubs. Agreed, a bit anti-climactic, but I'm more bummed from the passenger standpoint. But the plane can't go everywhere.

cschleic wrote:

IPFreely wrote:

777PHX wrote:

Rather anti-climactic, if you ask me.

I'm sure it's disappointing to employees and retirees in some of the hubs, especially ex-NW employees at JFK.

Three of the four cities are former NW hubs as it is, not original DL hubs. Agreed, a bit anti-climactic, but I'm more bummed from the passenger standpoint. But the plane can't go everywhere.

why are you bummed? If you have skymiles, you can bid on a flight.

Anything going to a museum or are all of the last commercial passenger 747's operating for airlines in the country that invented it becoming baked bean cans ?

Did United not use their contemporary bidding system for non-revs for the final flight of their 747? I figured once all seats had been booked, all non-revs would be boarded by their priority. Can someone correct me if I am wrong please. Thanks.

DTW-SEA 07:00-13:00 are not correct timings, if they are local times.... unless it is taking an extremely scenic routing to get to SEA.

JannEejit wrote:

Anything going to a museum or are all of the last commercial passenger 747's operating for airlines in the country that invented it becoming baked bean cans ?

1st 747-400 built (prototype) and 6th 744 delivered to NW (N661US , 6301) was preserved at ATL in Delta Heritage Museum. The aircraft is on exhibition outside the hangar.

United didn't send any plane to museum , all last 24 in service were sent for storage or directly for parting out and scrapping.

mel wrote:

DTW-SEA 07:00-13:00 are not correct timings, if they are local times.... unless it is taking an extremely scenic routing to get to SEA.

I just double checked and that's what Skymiles Experience website says. Maybe its gonna do a flyover at LAX!!

jumbojet wrote:

You need to be logged into Delta.com to see the bidding. Here is the direct link,

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US ... ences.html

No, you don't need to be logged in, and that's the wrong link.

http://www.skymilesexperiences.com/iSyn ... =DLNewshub

Is there any way to get on any of these flights as a paying passenger who is not an employee? In other words, I am going to bid in the Skymiles auction, but if I lose in the auction, is there a way I can pay? The Skymiles packages look like they are in Delta One, but can I just buy a ride in coach some way? The flights are not for sale at Delta.com.

jumbojet wrote:

Looks like DL is charging its own employees to fly on one of these farewell flights. At a discount and all proceeds go to charity. United didn't do that. United had a bidding process but didn't charge. Thoughts on this?

Honestly, I think it's crap. Not just charging employees, but the way in which normal revenue passengers are able to get on as well. There are a lot of people who will have no prayer in hell of getting on this, being since the only way is a miles auction, and for 2 seats to boot. My username aside, I definitely think United did it right on theirs. United had set aside 50 seats for employees to earn a seat (random lottery), there were a few seats set aside for the media, and the rest were open to anybody to purchase (including confirmed seats for employees with their standard discount, if they didn't want to risk the lottery). I got my ticket for $231. I could have redeemed my miles as an award ticket as well. If it had been a miles auction as Delta is doing, there would have been no way myself, or most others on that plane, would have been able to go.

I just feel like this method shuts out everyone except the highest of the elites.

ual763 wrote:

jumbojet wrote:

Looks like DL is charging its own employees to fly on one of these farewell flights. At a discount and all proceeds go to charity. United didn't do that. United had a bidding process but didn't charge. Thoughts on this?

Honestly, I think it's crap. Not just charging employees, but the way in which normal revenue passengers are able to get on as well. There are a lot of people who will have no prayer in hell of getting on this, being since the only way is a miles auction, and for 2 seats to boot. My username aside, I definitely think United did it right on theirs. United had set aside 50 seats for employees to earn a seat (random lottery), there were a few seats set aside for the media, and the rest were open to anybody to purchase (including confirmed seats for employees with their standard discount, if they didn't want to risk the lottery). I got my ticket for $231. I could have redeemed my miles as an award ticket as well. If it had been a miles auction as Delta is doing, there would have been no way myself, or most others on that plane, would have been able to go.

I just feel like this method shuts out everyone except the highest of the elites.

Yup, I agree completely.

I'm getting the same vibe, but I feel like DL doesn't want to draw too much attention to the 747's, which are almost a lingering relic of the NW era which DL wants to get rid of. DL probably wants to keep a tight circle around the 747, and send it off less as celebration and more as closure amongst the ex-NW employee community in DL. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but I can't think of any other explanation.

United on the other hand had a much richer history with the 747, and as such, I'm sure they were much more eager to celebrate it, as the festivities were fantastic! While I didn't catch the retro flight, I attended SFO Family Day, which featured not one, but TWO 747's, memorabilia, and a Bay Area flyover! Then, they celebrated the final Int'l flight, toured all the hubs at ORD, EWR, IAD, IAH, and DEN, did hub to hub employee flights, and then finally went out with a bang in the awesome retro SFO-HNL final, before saying goodbye with boatloads of media coverage, contests, and hashtags to go around. They really pulled out all the stops for the AvGeek community, I truly don't think we could've asked for a better farewell than what UA delivered. The enthusiasm of UA employees in inviting the public was incredible. I remember emailing Oscar Munoz if I could get into SFO Day, not thinking much of it, and UA went out of their way to invite me, which was amazing to see. I later personally thanked the people that gave me the chance to see the Queen one last time, United should be proud of what they pulled off, and I'm glad they invited me to be a part of it!

Who knows, maybe DL has something up it's sleeve that they're not telling us yet?

jumbojet wrote:

cschleic wrote:

IPFreely wrote:

I'm sure it's disappointing to employees and retirees in some of the hubs, especially ex-NW employees at JFK.

Three of the four cities are former NW hubs as it is, not original DL hubs. Agreed, a bit anti-climactic, but I'm more bummed from the passenger standpoint. But the plane can't go everywhere.

why are you bummed? If you have skymiles, you can bid on a flight.

Because not everyone is a big time skymiles member. It limits the opportunity. There are more programs out there than that one.

FoxtrotSierra wrote:

ual763 wrote:

jumbojet wrote:

Looks like DL is charging its own employees to fly on one of these farewell flights. At a discount and all proceeds go to charity. United didn't do that. United had a bidding process but didn't charge. Thoughts on this?

Honestly, I think it's crap. Not just charging employees, but the way in which normal revenue passengers are able to get on as well. There are a lot of people who will have no prayer in hell of getting on this, being since the only way is a miles auction, and for 2 seats to boot. My username aside, I definitely think United did it right on theirs. United had set aside 50 seats for employees to earn a seat (random lottery), there were a few seats set aside for the media, and the rest were open to anybody to purchase (including confirmed seats for employees with their standard discount, if they didn't want to risk the lottery). I got my ticket for $231. I could have redeemed my miles as an award ticket as well. If it had been a miles auction as Delta is doing, there would have been no way myself, or most others on that plane, would have been able to go.

I just feel like this method shuts out everyone except the highest of the elites.

Yup, I agree completely.

I'm getting the same vibe, but I feel like DL doesn't want to draw too much attention to the 747's, which are almost a lingering relic of the NW era which DL wants to get rid of. DL probably wants to keep a tight circle around the 747, and send it off less as celebration and more as closure amongst the ex-NW employee community in DL. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but I can't think of any other explanation.

United on the other hand had a much richer history with the 747, and as such, I'm sure they were much more eager to celebrate it, as the festivities were fantastic! While I didn't catch the retro flight, I attended SFO Family Day, which featured not one, but TWO 747's, memorabilia, and a Bay Area flyover! Then, they celebrated the final Int'l flight, toured all the hubs at ORD, EWR, IAD, IAH, and DEN, did hub to hub employee flights, and then finally went out with a bang in the awesome retro SFO-HNL final, before saying goodbye with boatloads of media coverage, contests, and hashtags to go around. They really pulled out all the stops for the AvGeek community, I truly don't think we could've asked for a better farewell than what UA delivered. The enthusiasm of UA employees in inviting the public was incredible. I remember emailing Oscar Munoz if I could get into SFO Day, not thinking much of it, and UA went out of their way to invite me, which was amazing to see. I later personally thanked the people that gave me the chance to see the Queen one last time, United should be proud of what they pulled off, and I'm glad they invited me to be a part of it!

Who knows, maybe DL has something up it's sleeve that they're not telling us yet?

I am sure DL won't disappoint. I mean, the announcement was just made today so we will just have to wait and see. I am sure it will be historic, a blockbuster event and one for the record books.

And remember, which is equally important, DL has a 747 in their museum. UA does not. It is in fact the first 747-400 built by Boeing which was flown by Northwest so kudos to DL for recognizing that. How quickly we forget.

Here's a snippet from the Delta Museum website.

Boeing 747-400 Now Open!

Exhibit

Ship 6301 moved to the Delta Flight Museum on April 30, 2016. After almost a year of work, this famous 747-400 opened as an exhibit on March 28, 2017. Inside, visitors are able to sit in aircraft seats, check out the upper deck, walk out on a wing, look down into the fuel tank and cargo bin, and learn all about the history of the 747 and its role in Delta's history. The plane is open 12-4pm Thursday-Tuesday and is included with the cost of Museum admission.

Service

Ship 6301 was the first 747-400 built by the Boeing Aircraft Company. It was registered by Boeing as N401PW, and first flew on April 29, 1988. It was used by Pratt & Whitney for engine testing prior to entry into service with Northwest Airlines.

Full article plus video here:

https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/ex ... ng-747-400


Another thing @ Foxtrot, while yours is a nice story, my office mate's wife works for United. She has over 28 years with the company (original UA employee, out or EWR). She bid for the flight and would've been on it but her boss said nope, sorry Charlie, you gotta be at your work station. She lost out. Shame to, 28 years with the company; been through thick and think but hey, this is about Delta now. United no longer flies the 747. Also, you brought up OM so here goes. OM is more of a cheerleader than a CEO. We all know that and we all know who really runs United. But hey, good for OM for making UA employees, well, united again.

jumbojet wrote:

FoxtrotSierra wrote:

ual763 wrote:

Honestly, I think it's crap. Not just charging employees, but the way in which normal revenue passengers are able to get on as well. There are a lot of people who will have no prayer in hell of getting on this, being since the only way is a miles auction, and for 2 seats to boot. My username aside, I definitely think United did it right on theirs. United had set aside 50 seats for employees to earn a seat (random lottery), there were a few seats set aside for the media, and the rest were open to anybody to purchase (including confirmed seats for employees with their standard discount, if they didn't want to risk the lottery). I got my ticket for $231. I could have redeemed my miles as an award ticket as well. If it had been a miles auction as Delta is doing, there would have been no way myself, or most others on that plane, would have been able to go.

I just feel like this method shuts out everyone except the highest of the elites.

Yup, I agree completely.

I'm getting the same vibe, but I feel like DL doesn't want to draw too much attention to the 747's, which are almost a lingering relic of the NW era which DL wants to get rid of. DL probably wants to keep a tight circle around the 747, and send it off less as celebration and more as closure amongst the ex-NW employee community in DL. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but I can't think of any other explanation.

United on the other hand had a much richer history with the 747, and as such, I'm sure they were much more eager to celebrate it, as the festivities were fantastic! While I didn't catch the retro flight, I attended SFO Family Day, which featured not one, but TWO 747's, memorabilia, and a Bay Area flyover! Then, they celebrated the final Int'l flight, toured all the hubs at ORD, EWR, IAD, IAH, and DEN, did hub to hub employee flights, and then finally went out with a bang in the awesome retro SFO-HNL final, before saying goodbye with boatloads of media coverage, contests, and hashtags to go around. They really pulled out all the stops for the AvGeek community, I truly don't think we could've asked for a better farewell than what UA delivered. The enthusiasm of UA employees in inviting the public was incredible. I remember emailing Oscar Munoz if I could get into SFO Day, not thinking much of it, and UA went out of their way to invite me, which was amazing to see. I later personally thanked the people that gave me the chance to see the Queen one last time, United should be proud of what they pulled off, and I'm glad they invited me to be a part of it!

Who knows, maybe DL has something up it's sleeve that they're not telling us yet?

I am sure DL won't disappoint. I mean, the announcement was just made today so we will just have to wait and see.

And remember, DL has a 747 in their museum. UA does not.

Another thing @ Foxtrot, while yours is a nice story, my office mate's wife works for United. She has over 28 years with the company (original UA employee, out or EWR). She bid for the flight and would've been on it but her boss said nope, sorry Charlie, you gotta be at your work station. She lost out. Shame to, 28 years with the company; been through thick and think but hey, this is about Delta now. United no longer flies the 747.

And here we go... Seriously @Jumbojet, you referenced United's retirement flight, and the process they had for selecting employees to be on the flight. You then asked for everyone's thoughts on Delta not doing it that way. Now, when we give our thoughts to you, which are completely valid points btw, you digress into the typical "Delta is so much better than United", "Delta has a museum", etc.

I'm assuming you'll try bidding on one of these flights or hangar parties, since Delta is the greatest airline in the World, and you are it's cherished messiah who has come to let the World know how great they are. Let me ask you this, if the mileage auction goes for more miles than what you have saved, will you still be singing the same tune?

ual763 wrote:

[
And here we go... Seriously @Jumbojet, you referenced United's retirement flight, and the process they had for selecting employees to be on the flight. You then asked for everyone's thoughts on Delta not doing it that way. Now, when we give our thoughts to you, which are completely valid points btw, you digress into the typical "Delta is so much better than United", "Delta has a museum", etc.

I'm assuming you'll try bidding on one of these flights or hangar parties, since Delta is the greatest airline in the World, and you are it's cherished messiah who has come to let the World know how great they are. Let me ask you this, if the mileage auction goes for more miles than what you have saved, will you still be singing the same tune?

Fact check. A few posts on here immediately went into what a wonderful job UA did and how lousy a job DL has done so far (REALLY?). I replied to that one particular user.

Lets stick to the topic please, this is about Delta and their own 747 farewell tour, I do NOT want to turn this into a DL VS. UA thread. United had its thread which I was very respectful on, I expect the same here from United fanboys. Thank you.

As for me, and thanks for asking, in case I lose out on a bid, I am set with one more DL 747 flight, 12/15, DTW-ICN, seat 80K.

FoxtrotSierra wrote:

ual763 wrote:

jumbojet wrote:

Looks like DL is charging its own employees to fly on one of these farewell flights. At a discount and all proceeds go to charity. United didn't do that. United had a bidding process but didn't charge. Thoughts on this?

Honestly, I think it's crap. Not just charging employees, but the way in which normal revenue passengers are able to get on as well. There are a lot of people who will have no prayer in hell of getting on this, being since the only way is a miles auction, and for 2 seats to boot. My username aside, I definitely think United did it right on theirs. United had set aside 50 seats for employees to earn a seat (random lottery), there were a few seats set aside for the media, and the rest were open to anybody to purchase (including confirmed seats for employees with their standard discount, if they didn't want to risk the lottery). I got my ticket for $231. I could have redeemed my miles as an award ticket as well. If it had been a miles auction as Delta is doing, there would have been no way myself, or most others on that plane, would have been able to go.

I just feel like this method shuts out everyone except the highest of the elites.

Yup, I agree completely.

I'm getting the same vibe, but I feel like DL doesn't want to draw too much attention to the 747's, which are almost a lingering relic of the NW era which DL wants to get rid of. DL probably wants to keep a tight circle around the 747, and send it off less as celebration and more as closure amongst the ex-NW employee community in DL. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but I can't think of any other explanation.

United on the other hand had a much richer history with the 747, and as such, I'm sure they were much more eager to celebrate it, as the festivities were fantastic! While I didn't catch the retro flight, I attended SFO Family Day, which featured not one, but TWO 747's, memorabilia, and a Bay Area flyover! Then, they celebrated the final Int'l flight, toured all the hubs at ORD, EWR, IAD, IAH, and DEN, did hub to hub employee flights, and then finally went out with a bang in the awesome retro SFO-HNL final, before saying goodbye with boatloads of media coverage, contests, and hashtags to go around. They really pulled out all the stops for the AvGeek community, I truly don't think we could've asked for a better farewell than what UA delivered. The enthusiasm of UA employees in inviting the public was incredible. I remember emailing Oscar Munoz if I could get into SFO Day, not thinking much of it, and UA went out of their way to invite me, which was amazing to see. I later personally thanked the people that gave me the chance to see the Queen one last time, United should be proud of what they pulled off, and I'm glad they invited me to be a part of it!

Who knows, maybe DL has something up it's sleeve that they're not telling us yet?

Yes I think you're touching on something. Unless it's true Delta history, there's a perception among non-DL lifers that legacy carriers are not worthy of full attention and praise.

That said, there were 35k+ employees who were Northwest and this is an appropriate itinerary. The 747 and Northwest were inseparable.

Yeah, the fact the last leg isn't even MSP-ATL, but rather ATL-MSP, is pretty classy. Hmmm. I've got Some sky miles...

back to the heart of the matter.

Highest bids are coming in on the ATL-MSP flight. All 5 packages are already each in excess of over 100,000 miles.

DTW-SEA is still bidding in the 60,000 t0 70,000 mile range.

SEA-ATL, each package is in the 90,000 mile range and higher.

I want the ATL-MSP flight but will take DTW-SEA as my second choice. I used 280,000 for EWR-DTW-ICN on 12/15 and on 12/17 ICN-ATL-EWR. So, I will gladly dump 250K or so on one of the packages and then cancel the ICN itin. Fingers crossed

Sightseer wrote:

jumbojet wrote:

(DTW-SEA)— Flight departs DTW 12/18/2017 at 7:00am, arrives SEA at 1pm

Those times don't quite look right.

The flight goes from DTW to PAE where passengers will get to tour Boeing's factory, then take the short hop to SEA.

Lhok13 wrote:

Sightseer wrote:

jumbojet wrote:

(DTW-SEA)— Flight departs DTW 12/18/2017 at 7:00am, arrives SEA at 1pm

Those times don't quite look right.

The flight goes from DTW to PAE where passengers will get to tour Boeing's factory, then take the short hop to SEA.

And you know this how? The official announcement and bidding site make no mention of a stop in PAE. I am inclined to believe you, but a source would be very much appreciated.

ual763 wrote:

Lhok13 wrote:

Sightseer wrote:

Those times don't quite look right.

The flight goes from DTW to PAE where passengers will get to tour Boeing's factory, then take the short hop to SEA.

And you know this how? The official announcement and bidding site make no mention of a stop in PAE. I am inclined to believe you, but a source would be very much appreciated.

I hope that info is correct as that is the flight I am bidding on.

jumbojet wrote:

mel wrote:

DTW-SEA 07:00-13:00 are not correct timings, if they are local times.... unless it is taking an extremely scenic routing to get to SEA.

I just double checked and that's what Skymiles Experience website says. Maybe its gonna do a flyover at LAX!!

The plane will make a stop at PAE. That is why it's scheduled to arrive at SEA at 1pm.

Holy sh*t one of the last leg packages is already up to 241,000 Skymiles and there are 16 days to go before the auction closes. That same package is up from 76,000 miles last night. I bet the last leg will go to a million miles. Only 10 total seats on each flight are going to be open to the public. It is disappointing that they didn't open up a more accessible option on any of the flights - like cash for middle seats in coach. But I am glad that employees and retirees are going to have a shot at so many seats.

ual763 wrote:

Lhok13 wrote:

Sightseer wrote:

Those times don't quite look right.

The flight goes from DTW to PAE where passengers will get to tour Boeing's factory, then take the short hop to SEA.

And you know this how? The official announcement and bidding site make no mention of a stop in PAE. I am inclined to believe you, but a source would be very much appreciated.

It's on Deltanet, should be on delta.com and was emailed to all pertinent parties at each station. Only thing I don't is if Boeing will be in charge of ground handling while they're at PAE.
The passengers will be getting a "very special, private" tour of the plant before continuing down to SEA.

Sancho99504 wrote:

ual763 wrote:

Lhok13 wrote:

The flight goes from DTW to PAE where passengers will get to tour Boeing's factory, then take the short hop to SEA.

And you know this how? The official announcement and bidding site make no mention of a stop in PAE. I am inclined to believe you, but a source would be very much appreciated.

It's on Deltanet, should be on delta.com and was emailed to all pertinent parties at each station. Only thing I don't is if Boeing will be in charge of ground handling while they're at PAE.
The passengers will be getting a "very special, private" tour of the plant before continuing down to SEA.

Sounds like DL is really pulling out all the stops to make this very special for employees and skymiles members alike.

I am bidding on this flight, DTW-SEA. I am winning one of the packages, my bid is 1650,000 miles and I expect that to easily double, maybe triple before its all over. Most other packages are already close to the 250,000 mile mark. That's my breaking point however so hopefully it stays well below that mark.

I mean, to be honest with you, I'd rather bid on the NY Rangers hockey tickets. 4 tickets for the December 27th game at the garden currently for 40,000 miles, section 110, 3 rows from the rink. A day with the family at a Rangers game or a farewell flight/Boeing tour/hangar party?.......

Do we know which aircraft it will be? There shouldn't be all that many left. But the farewell is still a month out.

lavalampluva wrote:

Do we know which aircraft it will be? There shouldn't be all that many left. But the farewell is still a month out.

If you go by plane spotters, there are 6 delta 747's still flying and it looks like all of them are rotating through commercial flying and charter flying so I guess unless if you have some insider knowledge, its tough to say

jumbojet wrote:

Sancho99504 wrote:

ual763 wrote:

And you know this how? The official announcement and bidding site make no mention of a stop in PAE. I am inclined to believe you, but a source would be very much appreciated.

It's on Deltanet, should be on delta.com and was emailed to all pertinent parties at each station. Only thing I don't is if Boeing will be in charge of ground handling while they're at PAE.
The passengers will be getting a "very special, private" tour of the plant before continuing down to SEA.

Sounds like DL is really pulling out all the stops to make this very special for employees and skymiles members alike.

I am bidding on this flight, DTW-SEA. I am winning one of the packages, my bid is 1650,000 miles and I expect that to easily double, maybe triple before its all over. Most other packages are already close to the 250,000 mile mark. That's my breaking point however so hopefully it stays well below that mark.

I mean, to be honest with you, I'd rather bid on the NY Rangers hockey tickets. 4 tickets for the December 27th game at the garden currently for 40,000 miles, section 110, 3 rows from the rink. A day with the family at a Rangers game or a farewell flight/Boeing tour/hangar party?.......

Considering, you can take a Boeing factory tour on your own, and that this is not "Last" flight, I'd probably go to the Hockey game with the family. Now, if you were bidding on the "last" flight to MSP, then I'd do that instead. The last flight is always the one that goes down in history, and you bet they'll have something awesome planned. It may not be to the Boeing plant, but as I mentioned above, Boeing has tours of that open to the public.

ual763 wrote:

[
Considering, you can take a Boeing factory tour on your own, and that this is not "Last" flight, I'd probably go to the Hockey game with the family. Now, if you were bidding on the "last" flight to MSP, then I'd do that instead. The last flight is always the one that goes down in history, and you bet they'll have something awesome planned. It may not be to the Boeing plant, but as I mentioned above, Boeing has tours of that open to the public.

ual763, I highly doubt Delta will be taking a plane load of people on a Boeing tour. Whatever it is, it will for sure be a one of a kind event, specially planned just for this occasion. DTW-SEA is the only flight I can take due to personal obligations. If it turns out that I am outbid on DTW-SEA then so be it. I still have DTW-ICN on 12/15. That said, I'm not so sure I want 'just another' ride on a B747 in which case I will cancel that trip and redeposit my miles.

Oh, I won the bidding on the Rangers tickets. 4 tickets in section 110 row 5 at MSG. So if it turns out that I took my last DL 747 flight already, than it is what it is. Go RANGERS!!!!

Interesting to note that I also bid on a vacation package, 4 night stay at a lux resort in Newport Beach, CA. The bidding was closing in 5 minutes and that's when things went gangbusters. The bidding, all in a matter of 15 minutes, went from 35,000 miles to 96,000 miles. I can only imagine whats going to happen to the Delta Farewell packages come T-5 minutes and counting. I can easily see bidding go from what it is now, 240,000, all the way up to and past 500,000.

I remember the L1011 farewell retirement flight which was essentially a party on board with a hangar reception in Victorville. Not sure if they can top that, what an experience to Victorville.

pics and info from event

http://www.L1011.homestead.com

The -400 will continue in commercial service (sports & ad hoc charters, extra sections) with Delta until December 31st - it’s just not scheduled service. The retirement flight to Arizona in early January is **not** going to be a repeat of the Delta L1011 retirement event. The ferry flight will not carry any passengers.

Check the Twitter hashtag #DL747Farewell for further information.

L1011dal wrote:

I remember the L1011 farewell retirement flight which was essentially a party on board with a hangar reception in Victorville. Not sure if they can top that, what an experience to Victorville.

L1011's were Delta planes that Delta operated for 28 years. 747-400's were Northwest planes that Delta inherited and operated for 8 years. They won't get equal treatment.

IPFreely wrote:

L1011dal wrote:

I remember the L1011 farewell retirement flight which was essentially a party on board with a hangar reception in Victorville. Not sure if they can top that, what an experience to Victorville.

L1011's were Delta planes that Delta operated for 28 years. 747-400's were Northwest planes that Delta inherited and operated for 8 years. They won't get equal treatment.

IPFreely wrote:

L1011dal wrote:

I remember the L1011 farewell retirement flight which was essentially a party on board with a hangar reception in Victorville. Not sure if they can top that, what an experience to Victorville.

L1011's were Delta planes that Delta operated for 28 years. 747-400's were Northwest planes that Delta inherited and operated for 8 years. They won't get equal treatment.

I concur with this sentiment; although Delta by-and-large absorbed many Northwest management traits, senior management personnel and policies/procedures, it is the “Delta” way to disregard much of the heritage of the companies they have “merged” with. Chicago and Southern, Western, Northeast Yellowbird and Pan Am barely get a mention in Delta history. Northwest? Who’s Northwest?? As one new hire Delta F/O that lives in my neighborhood told me recently, “Weren’t you some little airline that really only flew to China?” I shook my head, laughed, and re-educated him.

So, the 747-400’s they’re retiring were part of history, but according to Delta, you’d think the airline gave the Wright Brothers flying lessons.

jumbojet wrote:

Looks like DL is charging its own employees to fly on one of these farewell flights. At a discount and all proceeds go to charity. United didn't do that. United had a bidding process but didn't charge. Thoughts on this?

New process announced today, seats will be distributed to active employees and retirees through an expression of interest.

jumbojet wrote:

mel wrote:

DTW-SEA 07:00-13:00 are not correct timings, if they are local times.... unless it is taking an extremely scenic routing to get to SEA.

I just double checked and that's what Skymiles Experience website says. Maybe its gonna do a flyover at LAX!!

Looks like Delta is indeed bringing the 747 to LAX, although it is unclear how exactly it will fit into the existing plans.

http://news.delta.com/delta-adds-visits ... ewell-tour