China Airlines makes its last commercial flight with the Boeing 747

China Airlines - Boeing 747 400 (B-18215) - AirTeamImages.com - Jay Lee 

This past Saturday, March 20th, China Airlines, the traditional Taiwanese airline, made its last flight with its Boeing 747 passenger aircraft.

Following the airlines' trend around the world, China Airlines is retiring four-engine planes from its fleet. But it is worth mentioning that the Queen of The Skies' retirement will only be made for aircraft that carry passengers.

One of the reasons for the retirement of four-engine airlines is the high cost of maintaining such aircraft and the trend towards twin-engine aircraft such as the Boeing 787s, Boeing 777s, and A350s, more economical, technological and can fulfill the routes previously flown by four-engine aircraft.

The flight CI2747 departed on Saturday (20) from Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan at 11:30 AM (local time) with 375 passengers on board who followed this airline's emblematic moment.

The Boeing 747-400, with the registration B-18215, made a 5-hour flight from Taiwan to Japan, flying over Mount Fuji and other parts of Japan, and then returning to Taiwan.

The image above: CI2747 flight data on the RadarBox

However, the airline has retired the commercial Boeing 747-400s; China Airlines currently has 18 Boeing 747-400 freighter (400F) aircraft in its fleet. With the growing global demand for cargo, the airline will continue to use the plane to provide cargo services without carrying passengers.