Description

The Boeing 747 is the most iconic passenger aircraft known to humankind. Its introduction in 1968 transformed passenger aviation and opened it to the wider public, making air travel more accessible. The 747 production journey stretches for 56 years, with many variants of the jet being produced and operated across the world.

The main variants of the 747 have been successfully utilised in passenger and cargo configurations across its service life. Its versatile airframe design has allowed the aircraft to be used not only commercially, but also for military and firefighting purposes. Unfortunately, the era of the 747 and its role in aviation are fast coming to an end now due to the ever-changing aviation demands with its operational economics at the forefront coupled with the advances in long haul twin-jet design efficiencies.

Boeing produced a total of 1574 aircraft of various 747 models between 1968 and 2022. The tag in your possession was crafted from the Boeing 747-400 series aircraft, a rare 400M ‘Combi’ variant. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was the launch customer for the ‘Combi’. It was delivered to the airline in August 1999 and operated under the registration PH-BFV, named ‘City of Vancouver’. The aircraft remained in service with the Amsterdam based carrier until its unforeseen retirement in 2020, when pandemic of COVID-19 contributed to its pre-mature dismissal.

The ‘Combi’ was brought back to life by Longtail Aviation in June 2021 and re-entered its service for the JetOneX for a brief period between February and May 2022 under the registration VQ-BWM. In the summer of 2024, the Fuselage team was given a rare opportunity to take part in the ‘BWM’ dismantling and scrapping. We are enormously proud to be able to add the ‘Queen of the Skies’ tag to our collection as it was the first one of the 61 Boeing 747-400M aircraft ever made.