Air India ‘s remaining four Boeing 747s were deregistered by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) this week.
The Boeing 747s were introduced in 1971 and were in poor condition when they arrived in Mumbai. The aircraft were deregistered as a regular procedure, according to DGCA Director General Arun Kumar, however Air India spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya claimed they “had no more remarks on this.”
According to a former Air India pilot, the jets were old and unmaintained.
“When Air India was going to be sold to the Tatas, the management didn’t want to rebuild them because it would be quite expensive”
the pilot explained
Many of the 747 pilots were housed aboard Boeing 787s in Mumbai, he claimed.
Two Air India 747s were previously earmarked for VVIP flights, which transported the Prime Minister, President, Vice-President, and other high-ranking officials to their destinations. The 747s, however, were set aside and utilised for travel to the Middle East sector after the central government purchased dedicated aircraft for this purpose.
Captain Rohit Bhasin, who used to fly a Boeing 747, described it as a “dream machine” to The Indian Express. “Flying 747s was a pleasurable experience for me.” It was a fantastic device. He remarked, “I used to fly former President Pratibha Patil and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.”
“In 1969, when Air India ordered the 747s, they sought for the most experienced Indian Air Force transport wing pilots to be deputed to Air India, and that’s when my father came to AirIndia,” said Debashish Chakraverty, whose father Captain D M Chakraverty flew 747-200 and 747-300. He piloted the 707-300 and 707-400 before transitioning to 747s in 1971. He stated, “Air India possessed over 20 Boeing 747s and wet-leased others.”
From April 1971 to April 2022, Air India flew Boeing 747s for more than 51 years. Three of the four 747s were operating, he said. The last time Chakraverty saw the 747s in the air was during the three waves of the Covid-19 outbreak, he added.
Boeing 747s are currently operated by Lufthansa and Korean Air. India currently has none.
“It’s a sad day in aviation when these planes are de-registered. This aircraft was the largest, fastest, and heaviest ever flown by an Indian carrier. None of the pilots who have flown a Boeing 747 have indicated it is a bad plane. Captain Mihir Bhagvati, head of the Bombay Flying Club and a trainer, said, “She is still known as the Queen of the Skies.”
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