On September 14, 2019, an El Al 747 departed New York JFK marking the airline’s last transatlantic flight with the type.
Today, on November 3, 2019, the airline operated its very last commercial 747 flight. The flight took passengers from Rome to Tel Aviv and “drew” a 747 above the Mediterranean Sea.
El Al Israel Airlines and the Boeing 747
Over the last couple of years, more and more airlines have been phasing out their Boeing 747s and replacing them with more fuel efficient types like the 787. With today’s final flight, El Al is the latest one to do so.
El Al received its first 747, a 747-200, back in 1971. Since then, more than a dozen 747s – both in passenger and cargo configurations – went in and out of its fleet. It was thanks to this type that the airline launched its flagship non-stop route from Tel Aviv to New York back in 1973 (previously the flight made a stop on the westbound leg).
The 747 played not only an important role in El Al’s growth as an air carrier, but also in Israel’s history.
Between May 24, 1991, and May 25, 1991, El Al’s 747s participated in Operation Solomon, a covert military mission to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Together with Israeli Air Force C-130s, they transported more than 14,000 people between Ethiopia and Israel.
On May 24, 1991, one of the 747s even set a world record when it transported more than 1,000 passengers in one go. In addition to those that boarded the plane in Ethiopia, three babies were born onboard.
El Al received its first of the newer 747-400s in 1994, and over the years, it took delivery of several airframes, both brand new as well as second hand. At the beginning of this year, it operated five of the type – four in passenger configuration and one freighter.
The airline retired two of the passenger aircraft (4X-ELB and 4X-ELD) as well as the freighter (4X-ELF) between June and September 2019. That left it with a pair of passenger 747-400s (4X-ELA and 4X-ELC).
One of those, 4X-ELA, operated the last 747 transatlantic flight from New York to Tel Aviv on October 14, 2019. After that, it operated a few more rotations from Tel Aviv to Barcelona and Bangkok before operating its last commercial flight on October 31, 2019.
The other one, 4X-ELC, was assigned to the last, special rotation.
El Al 747 Draws a 747 Above the Mediterraean
The last 747-400 in El Al’s fleet flew its last regular flight on October 29, 2019, from Bangkok to Tel Aviv. It wasn’t its last mission, though. Its last mission was a special farewell rotation to Rome – operating on November 1, 2019, from Tel Aviv to London, and on November 3, 2019, from Rome to Tel Aviv.
The flights operated with the following schedule and were assigned flight numbers that made it clear what the occasion was:
- LY1744 / FCO – TLV / 8:05AM – 10:30AM (November 1, 2019)
- LY1747 / TLV – FCO / 10:00AM – 3:45PM (November 3, 2019)
Tickets for these flights were sold to El Al’s mileage program members for a special price: 747 points in business class and 400 points in economy class.
The last flight took off from Rome at 11:10AM local time.
About two hours into the flight, above the Mediterranean Sea, the 747 descended from its cruising altitude of 37,000 feet to just 10,000 feet and commenced a special mission – drawing a picture of itself in the sky.
It took the aircraft about two hours to finish the “radar art.”
Once it was done, it climbed to 31,000 feet and set its course for Tel Aviv. Not long after that – around 4:40PM Israel time – it commenced descent once again.
It landed at Ben Gurion airport at 5:08PM, bringing the era of the 747 at El Al Israel Airlines to an end.
Summary
Today’s a bittersweet day for El Al.
Starting today, its active fleet consists solely of twinjets – and the state-of-the-art 787 can officially be considered its flagship. At the same time, today marks the end of the historically-significant 747.
It marks the end of an aircraft that not only allowed El Al to operate its New York flight non-stop in both directions but also set the world record for the largest number of passengers on a single flight during Operation Solomon.
Today’s also a sad day for aviation enthusiasts around the world. With El Al’s 747s out of service now, there’s one less operator of the one-and-only Jumbo Jet.
