Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet

Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
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The final 747 airplane produced by Boeing taxis before take off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington on February 1, 2023. (AFP)
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
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Current and former Boeing employees, customers and invited guests react during a ceremony to mark the delivery of the last Boeing 747 aircraft in Everett, Washington, on Jan. 31, 2023. (AFP)
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
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Water is sprayed above the final 747 airplane produced by Boeing, a 747-8 Freighter for Atlas Air, as it taxis before take off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington on Feb. 1, 2023. (AFP)
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
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Retired Boeing employee Thomas Gray speaks to media as the aircraft maker delivered its final 747 airplane to Atlas Air on January 31, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 02 February 2023

Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet

Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
  • Since 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers
  • The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state

SEATTLE: Boeing bids farewell to an icon on Tuesday: It’s delivering its final 747 jumbo jet.

Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA’s space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft. It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight.
But over about the past 15 years, Boeing and its European rival Airbus have introduced more profitable and fuel efficient wide-body planes, with only two engines to maintain instead of the 747′s four. The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.

A big crowd of current and former Boeing workers is expected for the final send-off. The last one is being delivered to cargo carrier Atlas Air.
“If you love this business, you’ve been dreading this moment,” said longtime aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. “Nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore, but that doesn’t erase the tremendous contribution the aircraft made to the development of the industry or its remarkable legacy.”
Boeing set out to build the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport, the C-5A. The idea was to take advantage of the new engines developed for the transport — high-bypass turbofan engines, which burned less fuel by passing air around the engine core, enabling a farther flight range — and to use them for a newly imagined civilian aircraft.
It took more than 50,000 Boeing workers less than 16 months to churn out the first 747 — a Herculean effort that earned them the nickname “The Incredibles.” The jumbo jet’s production required the construction of a massive factory in Everett, north of Seattle — the world’s largest building by volume.

INNUMBERS

1,574 Number of 747 jumbo jets built by Boeing 

1970 - The year the first 747 entered service on Pan Am’s New York-London route

50,000 Boeing workers who took part in building the first 747 in almost 16 months

68.5 meters - Length of the jumbo jet's fuselage, and the tail stood as tall as a six-story building

The plane’s fuselage was 225 feet (68.5 meters) long and the tail stood as tall as a six-story building. The plane’s design included a second deck extending from the cockpit back over the first third of the plane, giving it a distinctive hump and inspiring a nickname, the Whale. More romantically, the 747 became known as the Queen of the Skies.
Some airlines turned the second deck into a first-class cocktail lounge, while even the lower deck sometimes featured lounges or even a piano bar.
“It was the first big carrier, the first widebody, so it set a new standard for airlines to figure out what to do with it, and how to fill it,” said Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Pennsylvania’s Albright College who specializes in aviation and mobility. “It became the essence of mass air travel: You couldn’t fill it with people paying full price, so you need to lower prices to get people onboard. It contributed to what happened in the late 1970s with the deregulation of air travel.”
The first 747 entered service in 1970 on Pan Am’s New York-London route, and its timing was terrible, Aboulafia said. It debuted shortly before the oil crisis of 1973, amid a recession that saw Boeing’s employment fall from 100,800 employees in 1967 to a low of 38,690 in April 1971. The “Boeing bust” was infamously marked by a billboard near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that read, “Will the last person leaving SEATTLE — Turn out the lights.”




Actor John Travolta, a licensed pilot, speaks during a ceremony to mark the delivery of the last Boeing 747 aircraft, in Everett, Washington, on Jan. 31, 2023. (AFP)

An updated model — the 747-400 series — arrived in the late 1980s and had much better timing, coinciding with the Asian economic boom of the early 1990s, Aboulafia said. He recalled taking a Cathay Pacific 747 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong as a twentysomething backpacker in 1991.
“Even people like me could go see Asia,” Aboulafia said. “Before, you had to stop for fuel in Alaska or Hawaii and it cost a lot more. This was a straight shot — and reasonably priced.”
Delta was the last US airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017, although some other international carriers continue to fly it, including the German airline Lufthansa.
Atlas Air ordered four 747-8 freighters early last year, with the final one leaving the factory Tuesday.
Boeing’s roots are in the Seattle area, and it has assembly plants in Washington state and South Carolina. The company announced in May that it would move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, putting its executives closer to key federal government officials and the Federal Aviation Administration, which certifies Boeing passenger and cargo planes.
Boeing’s relationship with the FAA has been strained since deadly crashes of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max, in 2018 and 2019. The FAA took nearly two years — far longer than Boeing expected — to approve design changes and allow the plane back in the air.


German minister praises ‘esteemed’ Taiwan, China protests ‘vile’ visit

German minister praises ‘esteemed’ Taiwan, China protests ‘vile’ visit
Updated 13 sec ago

German minister praises ‘esteemed’ Taiwan, China protests ‘vile’ visit

German minister praises ‘esteemed’ Taiwan, China protests ‘vile’ visit
  • But education minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger says her trip was not connected to her government’s China strategy
  • Germany has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though it does maintain a de facto embassy in Taipei
TAIPEI: Germany’s education minister said on Tuesday she was honored to visit “esteemed partner” Taiwan but that her trip was not connected to her government’s China strategy, as Beijing said it had protested to Berlin about her “vile conduct” in going there.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military, political and economic pressure to assert those claims. The politically sensitive visit is taking place as Berlin is reviews its previously close ties with China.
A visit to Taiwan in January by a delegation of high-ranking lawmakers from the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), the smallest party in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way coalition, led to protests from Beijing.
Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, also of the FDP, said at the signing of a technology cooperation agreement with Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong that it was “extremely important to my ministry and me to promote cooperation with like-minded partners.”
“This arrangement stands for enhancing cooperation on the basis of the democratic values transparency, openness, reciprocity and scientific freedom, to only name a few,” she said.
“It is a great pleasure and honor for me to be the first minister heading a specialist government department to visit Taiwan in 26 years,” she added. “Taiwan, with its excellent research institutions, is a highly esteemed partner.”
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said they had filed a strong protest with Germany about her “vile conduct.”
Germany should “immediately stop associating and interacting with Taiwan independence separatist forces, immediately stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces, and immediately stop using the Taiwan issue to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” Wang told a daily news briefing.
Germany, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though it does maintain a de facto embassy in Taipei.
Given the sensitivity of the trip, Stark-Watzinger is not scheduled to meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.
In a departure from the policies of Germany’s former chancellor, Angela Merkel, Olaf Scholz’s government is developing a new China strategy to reduce dependence on Asia’s economic superpower, hitherto a vital export market for German goods.
Responding to a question from a reporter, Stark-Watzinger said: “The federal government’s China strategy remains unchanged. To that extent, this visit today is not connected with that.”

Afghanistan school year starts but no classes held

Afghanistan school year starts but no classes held
Updated 21 March 2023

Afghanistan school year starts but no classes held

Afghanistan school year starts but no classes held
  • Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from going to secondary school
  • The education ministry made no public announcement of the reopening of schools

KABUL: Afghanistan’s schools reopened Tuesday for the new academic year, but no classes were held as students were unaware of the start and hundreds of thousands of teenage girls remain barred from attending class.
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from going to secondary school.
Taliban authorities have imposed an austere interpretation of Islam since storming to power in August 2021 after the withdrawal of the US-led foreign forces that backed the previous governments.
The education ministry made no public announcement of the reopening of schools, several teachers and officials said.
“A letter issued by the minister of education was given to us by our principal to reopen the school today, but since no public announcement was made, no students came,” said Mohammad Osman Atayi, a teacher at the Saidal Naseri Boys High School in Kabul.
AFP journalists toured seven schools in Kabul and saw only a few teachers and primary students arriving — but no classes were held.
Schools also reopened in provinces including Herat, Kunduz, Ghazni and Badakhshan but no lessons were held there either, AFP correspondents reported.
Tuesday’s start of the new academic year coincided with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, celebrated widely in Afghanistan before the Taliban returned to power but now unacknowledged by the country’s new rulers.
Hundreds of thousands of teenage girls meanwhile remain barred from secondary school.
“The Taliban have snatched everything away from us,” said 15-year-old Sadaf Haidari, a resident of Kabul who should have started grade 11 this year.
“I am depressed and broken.”
The ban on girls’ secondary education came into effect in March last year, just hours after the education ministry reopened schools for both girls and boys.
Taliban leaders — who have also banned women from university education — have repeatedly claimed they will reopen secondary schools for girls once “conditions” have been met, from obtaining funding to remodeling the syllabus along Islamic lines.
The international community has made the right to education for women a key condition in negotiations over aid and recognition of the Taliban government.
No country has officially recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers.
Afghanistan under the Taliban government is the “most repressive country in the world” for women’s rights, the United Nations has said.
Women have been effectively squeezed out of public life — removed from most government jobs or are paid a fraction of their former salary to stay at home.
They are also barred from going to parks, fairs, gyms and public baths, and must cover up in public.


Dozens arrested in French protests after government survives no-confidence vote

Dozens arrested in French protests after government survives no-confidence vote
Updated 21 March 2023

Dozens arrested in French protests after government survives no-confidence vote

Dozens arrested in French protests after government survives no-confidence vote
  • Anger felt as protesters take to the streets in cities across the France
  • Key question in coming days will be whether Emmanuel Macron sticks with his existing government

PARIS: Dozens of people were arrested across France after sporadic protests broke out hours after President Emmanuel Macron’s government narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday over a deeply unpopular pension reform.
The failure of the vote will be a relief to Macron. Had it succeeded, it would have sunk his government and killed the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
But the anger was felt as protesters took to the streets in cities across the France, opposition lawmakers vowed to force a U-turn and unions prepared for nationwide action on Thursday.
In some of central Paris’ most prestigious avenues, firefighters scrambled to put out burning rubbish piles left uncollected for days due to strikes as protesters played cat-and-mouse with police for a fifth night.
What may concern the executive is the large number of young people in the demonstrations.
Television images showed police briefly firing tear gas and charging at protesters in several towns with special motor bike officers seen striking out at protesters.
That prompted the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Association, Clément Voule, to say in a Twitter post that police should avoid using excessive force.
The vote on the tripartisan, no-confidence motion was closer than expected. Some 278 members of parliament backed it, just nine short of the 287 needed for it to succeed.
“We are coming to the end of the democratic process of this essential reform for our country,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said. “It is with humility and seriousness that I took my responsibility and that of my government.”
Opponents say this shows Macron’s decision to bypass a parliamentary vote on the pension bill — which triggered the no- confidence motions — has already undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership.
All eyes now turn to the president who is due to speak to the nation on Wednesday afternoon, according to France Info radio.
Macron will hold talks later on Tuesday with Borne, the heads of both houses of parliament and lawmakers in his political camp as he seeks to plot an exit to the political crisis.
The key question in coming days will be whether Macron sticks with his existing government as he looks to freshen things up even if the potential paralysis in parliament will make governing more complicated.
“Nothing is resolved and everything in the country continues so that this reform is withdrawn,” Mathilde Panot, the parliamentary chief of the far-left La France Insoumise said.


Japan PM Kishida to meet Zelensky in surprise Kyiv visit

Japan PM Kishida to meet Zelensky in surprise Kyiv visit
Updated 21 March 2023

Japan PM Kishida to meet Zelensky in surprise Kyiv visit

Japan PM Kishida to meet Zelensky in surprise Kyiv visit
  • Fumio Kishida is the last G7 leader to visit Ukraine and has come under increasing pressure to make the trip
  • News of the trip was first reported by Japanese media, including national broadcaster NHK

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday to offer “solidarity and unwavering support,” Japan’s foreign ministry said.
Kishida is the last G7 leader to visit the war-torn country and has come under increasing pressure to make the trip, as Japan hosts the grouping’s summit this May.
He has repeatedly said a visit to Kyiv was “under consideration,” though security and logistical challenges were reportedly a major obstacle.
Kishida was in India on Monday and had been expected to return to Tokyo, but instead flew to Poland, where he reportedly boarded a train to cross into Ukraine.
He will express “respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people” and offer “the solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine of Japan and the G7, chaired by Japan,” the foreign ministry said.
Kishida is expected to return to Poland for summit talks on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, before arriving back in Tokyo on Thursday.
News of the trip was first reported by Japanese media, including national broadcaster NHK, whose reporters in Poland filmed a car carrying the premier in the town of Przemysl, from where foreign leaders have often taken the train into Ukraine.
Kishida became the only G7 leader not to have visited Kyiv after US President Joe Biden made a surprise stop to meet Zelensky in February.
But Japanese officials were reportedly worried about the security risks of a trip for Kishida, who becomes the first Japanese prime minister to visit an active warzone since World War II.
His trip comes with Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting Moscow for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with the Ukraine conflict high on the agenda.
Japan has joined Western allies in sanctioning Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, while offering support to Kyiv.
It has also taken the rare steps of sending defensive equipment and offering refuge to those fleeing the conflict.
It has not offered military support, however, because the nation’s post-war constitution limits its military capacity to ostensibly defensive measures.
Kishida warned in a speech last year that “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” as concerns grow that China could invade democratic, self-ruled Taiwan.
And in December, as Japan overhauled its key defense policies, the government explicitly warned that China poses the “greatest strategic challenge ever” to its security.
In its largest defense shake-up in decades, Japan set a goal of doubling defense spending to the NATO standard of two percent of GDP by 2027.
Japan is this year’s host of the Group of Seven nations, which have taken a united approach in sanctioning Russia.
The countries will meet for a summit in Hiroshima in May, which Kishida is reportedly considering inviting Zelensky to attend.
Kishida has been on a diplomatic blitz in recent days, hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Tokyo before heading to New Delhi for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


Vladimir Putin meets ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping in Kremlin as Ukraine war grinds on

Vladimir Putin meets ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping in Kremlin as Ukraine war grinds on
Updated 21 March 2023

Vladimir Putin meets ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping in Kremlin as Ukraine war grinds on

Vladimir Putin meets ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping in Kremlin as Ukraine war grinds on
  • Washington denounces Xi Jinping’s visit, saying it shows Beijing is providing Moscow with ‘diplomatic cover’ to commit more crimes

Vladimir Putin and his “dear friend” Chinese leader Xi Jinping planned more talks on Tuesday after a Kremlin dinner where the isolated Russian president curried favor with his most powerful ally in the face of Western opposition to the war in Ukraine.
Coming just days after an international court accused Putin of war crimes, Washington denounced Xi’s visit, saying it showed Beijing was providing Moscow with “diplomatic cover” to commit more crimes.
Making his first trip abroad since obtaining an unprecedented third term earlier this month, Xi has been trying to portray Beijing as a potential peacemaker in Ukraine, even as he deepens economic ties with his closest ally.
Putin and Xi greeted one another as “dear friend” when they met in the Kremlin on Monday, and Russian state news agencies later reported they held informal talks for nearly 4-1/2 hours, with more official talks scheduled for Tuesday.
In televised comments, Putin told Xi he viewed China’s proposals for resolution of the Ukraine conflict with respect. Xi, for his part, praised Putin and predicted Russians would re-elect him next year.
Moscow has been publicly promoting plans for a visit by Xi for months. But the timing gave the Chinese leader’s personal support new meaning, after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday accusing Putin of war crimes for deporting children from Ukraine.
Denying the charges, Moscow said it has taken in orphans to protect them, and it opened a criminal case against the ICC’s prosecutor and judges. Beijing said the warrant reflected double standards.
“That President Xi is traveling to Russia days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin suggests that China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
“Instead of even condemning them, it would rather provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit those grave crimes.”
White House spokesman John Kirby said Xi should use his influence to press Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine, and Washington was concerned that Beijing might instead call for a cease-fire that would let Russian troops stay.
China has released a proposal to solve the Ukraine crisis, largely dismissed in the West as a ploy to buy Putin time to regroup his forces and solidify his grip on occupied land.
Foreign policy analysts said while Putin would be looking for strong support from Xi over Ukraine, they doubted his Moscow visit would result in any military backing.
Washington has said in recent weeks it fears China might arm Russia, which Beijing has denied.
Yu Jie, senior research fellow, Asia-Pacific Programme, at Chatham House in London, said Xi’s entourage does not include any senior members from the People’s Liberation Army.
“This may send a clear message that Beijing is unlikely to offer any direct military support to Moscow despite what some pundits have asserted,” she said.
Kyiv, which says the war cannot end until Russia pulls out its troops, cautiously welcomed Beijing’s peace proposal when it was unveiled last month.