When Qantas announced the 747 would be retired in 2020, I wondered how I could get one final flight in.

I had no plans for an overseas trip. Then the Antarctic flights were announced, but even the ‘cheap’ seats in the center rows are quite expensive and views are limited. However this year Qantas scheduled the ferry flights to and from Sydney as regular flights instead of ferry flights which are crew only.

Once I had found this out, here’s my chance for one last 747 flight.

Route: Adelaide to Sydney
Date: 25 November 2019
Flight No: QF736
Aircraft: Boeing 747-438ER VH-OEH
Seat: 70K

Got to the airport real early to try and see the 747 being towed to the gate, but it was being towed around just as I got to the airport, so just missed it.

No issues with security.

Quick chat to the flight crew before they boarded the aircraft.

So now time to sit and wait.

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Was able to board before the masses, and was able arrange a quick flight deck visit once in Sydney.

Aircraft is full.

I was surprised how tight the aisle is to walk down even where there are hardly any other people onboard.

Was surprised how big the gap is between the seat and window right down the back.

Boarding and take off video.
https://youtu.be/W-AUujgsjMc

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-4 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-5 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-7 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Took off on runway 05. Could see many people lined up to watch the take off.

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-8 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-9 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-10 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-11 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-12 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-13 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-14 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-15 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-16 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-17 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-18 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-19 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-20 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-21 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-22 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-23 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-24 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-25 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-26 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-27 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-28 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-29 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Quite bumpy once in the air, but smoothed our above the clouds.

Been cloudy most of the way with the odd bump here and there.

Lunch choices were either a ham sandwich or some cauliflower dish. I had the ham sandwich.

Clouds cleared over NSW.

Soon became cloudy again.

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-30 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-31 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-32 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-33 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-34 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-35 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-36 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-37 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Quite a bumpy approach into Sydney.

The landing was a bit bumpy in places.

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-38 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-39 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-40 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-41 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-42 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-43 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-44 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Landing and flight deck video.
https://youtu.be/RDTk63IVTpc

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-46 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-47 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-48 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-49 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-50 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-51 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-52 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-53 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-54 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-55 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-56 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-57 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-58 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-59 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-60 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-61 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-62 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-63 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-64 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-65 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Waited for the crowd to go and there was bit of a queue for a look at the flight deck.

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-66 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-67 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-68 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-69 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-70 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-71 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-72 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-73 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-74 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-75 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas747-438-VH-OEH-76 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

While waiting for the return flight, had a quick look at the Qantas display upstairs in Terminal 3.

Qantas display video
https://youtu.be/k-TNxx7Whlg

QantasA330-202-VH-EBN-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantaslink717-2BL-VH-YQU-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SingaporeA380-841-9V-SKQ-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas717-2BL-VH-YQT-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VZZ-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VZZ-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SYDTerminal-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SYDTerminal-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SYDTerminal-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SYDTerminal-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SYDTerminal-4 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SYDTerminal-5 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

To be continued.

Route: Sydney to Adelaide
Date: 25 November 2019
Flight No: QF743
Aircraft: Boeing 737-838 VH-VYF
Seat: 28F

The weather turned bad during the afternoon, which caused delays.
Tarmac activity was suspended several times during the afternoon.

Flight was delayed about 2 hours. Original departure time was 6:40 PM, but was closer to 9:00 PM.

SYDTerminal-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-1 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Finally boarded and got underway. Looks to be 100% full.

Aisle looks a bit wider than the 747 I flew on earlier in the day.

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-4 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-5 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Quite a long taxi to runway 34L and a bumpy takeoff.

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-7 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-8 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Take off video
https://youtu.be/WgE0lHwNazY

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-9 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Smoothed our in the cruise.

Meal choices were Vietnamese salad with noodles or chicken and rice as the hot option. Had the chicken and I thought it tasted good. Many think airline food tastes bad, but I don’t think it deserves its reputation.

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-9 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Quite a bumpy approach and landing in Adelaide.

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-10 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-11 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Landing Video
https://youtu.be/I1mUVpvb1tw

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-12 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-13 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-14 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Waited for the crowd to go and had a chat with the flight crew on the way out.

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-15 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-16 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYF-17 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Since we were so late, the airport was starting to close down for the night.

Hi Ryan - thanks for sharing this journey with us. I liked your videos too, both the walk through and visit to the flight deck.

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VapourTrails wrote:

Hi Ryan - thanks for sharing this journey with us. I liked your videos too, both the walk through and visit to the flight deck.

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Thanks for the reply.

The new GoPro 8 made doing the videos a lot easier as I had an attachment to attach it to the hot shoe on the DSLR.