Overall, United’s five two-person “Dinner with the Queen of the Skies” packages offered under its “MileagePlus Experiences” brand netted a total of 1.3 million miles.Īside from the tour of United’s last 747 at UAM’s “Aircraft Disassembly Center,” bid winners also got to tour UAM’s Global Distribution Center. The weather caused him to miss his connecting flight to Memphis, so “I flew to Nashville and drove in the middle of the night to get here,” he said.
And while his trip from Florida was much shorter than Chiu’s he faced his own challenge in getting to the event: summer storms. View Gallery: A look at United Airlines' Boeing 747 over the yearsĬhiang said he bid 142,000 miles for his package. TODAY IN THE SKY: United's Boeing 747 farewell flight was one to remember ( story continues below) Or it would be enough for three saver business-class tickets to Rome, with miles left over.īut Hopper had no qualms about how he spent the miles. To put the bid in perspective, 420,000 miles could be used for 16 domestic economy-class flights at United’s “saver” award level. “‘You’re going where? You’re going to Tupelo?’” Birren said with a laugh about the reaction from some friends. They admit some friends were surprised they used so many miles for a package that included a relatively short flight to Memphis and a bus ride to Mississippi. “I’ve been infatuated with the 747 ever since I was a little kid,” Hopper added, chatting from the first-class cabin of the now-retired Boeing 747 (tail number N118UA) that flew United’s last passenger flight from San Francisco to Honolulu in November. “It was totally worth it,” says Ted Birren of Chicago, who traveled to Mississippi as part of the 420,000-mile bid made by his partner, Dan Hopper. View Gallery: Behind the scenes at a major warehouse for salvaged aircraft parts IN PHOTOS: Behind the scenes at a UAM's warehouse for salvaged aircraft parts ( story continues below) The top bid? One of United’s MileagePlus members shelled out 420,000 miles for a two-person package, which included coach-class flights to and from Memphis, two nights’ lodging and a tour of the UAM warehouse and disassembly facility in Tupelo. It was all part of a special package that United put together for its frequent-flier members, who could bid for one of five packages that included flights to Memphis and transportation to the Universal Asset Management (UAM) Aircraft Disassembly Center about two hours away in northeast Mississippi. The final farewell included a champagne toast from inside the first-class cabin of the last United 747 to fly paying passengers and an al-fresco dinner at tables encircled by two more of the airline’s now-retired jumbo jets. Those who made the trip gave United’s 747s one last sendoff. United flew its last Boeing 747 passenger flight in November, but 10 United frequent fliers and two airline employees were treated to one last look at the pioneering jumbo jet at a special event here this past Saturday. – It was a curtain call for United’s “Queen of the Skies.” View Gallery: United frequent-flyers bid miles to attend Boeing 747 farewell party
0 kommentar(er)
