This or That

On 747’s trip to the boneyard, two Minnesotans marry

Bob CollinsBob Collins Jan 3, 2018
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The last Delta/Northwest 747 jet to fly into Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport to great fanfare last month made its last flight today, a trip from Atlanta to a boneyard in Arizona where it will be stripped and left to become dust in the desert.

“They’ll probably make beer cans and razor blades out of it,” its captain said. The engines will be reused. They’re worth $5 million apiece.

It was a typical Delta flight, CNN’s Jon Ostrower tweets.

A wedding between a couple of Minnesotans, for example. The kids — identified as Holly and Gene — didn’t rush into anything. They met aboard a 747 in 2009 when they were flying troops to Kuwait. Both were Northwest employees (he a pilot; she a flight attendant) before Delta gobbled up the hometown airline.


“I was able to fly with the same crews and we really became a family,” Holly said. “It’s always been my favorite plane, and it’s absolutely a love of Gene’s – he loves it like he loves me. We’re so fortunate to able to give her a farewell with the memory of a lifetime. It was meant to be.”

Passengers added to the graffiti, which included autographs from Clemson football players. The jet carried them home after Monday’s Sugar Bowl loss.

Piloting honors went to the captain who is retiring. This is his last flight, too. Pilots are still required to retire when they turn 65, which is still about 40 more years than the plane flew.