United Air Lines Last GUPPY flight

maddog52

maddog52

Line Up and Wait
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maddog52
It's a very sad day at ORD today. United is flying the last revenue flights of the 737 fleet after 41 years of service. Nose number 9931 left IAD this morning for ORD. While it was at gate C-24 in ORD waiting for the flight to DEN, my captain and I took our own nostalgia tour since we had both flown it during our careers. You can track it on flight aware as United 737 from IAD-ORD, ORD-DEN, DEN-LAX, and finally LAX-SFO.

It's hard to put into words the emotions I felt watching it push back. It definitely wasn't a celebratory mood among the pilots there. More like mourning an old friend that passed well ahead of his time. The senior management are calling the ceremonies a celebration instead of the wake it actually is. The 737 is going to be sorely missed along with the loss of 1450 pilot jobs it's retirement represents.

It wasn't as comfortable or as automated as some aircraft, but those who've flown it will universally agree that it was an honest, reliable, "working man's" airplane. It's still the most popular jet airliner ever produced with over 7000 orders. Just don't tell South West that you can't make money with 737s.

I'm attaching some photos I took with my phone of the aircraft today. Captain Bob Russo is making the last three flights as his retirement flight. He's got 17000 hours on the Guppy. Trivia question: can anybody name the official title of the fabric pattern for the coach seats?


Good Bye 737, thanks fo the ride!!
 

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I remember Len Morgan writing about the early days of the 737. A grizzled DC-8 captain for the first time watched a 737-100 take off. He paused a minute, then keyed the mike and said, "Nice punt."
 
Farewell...

There was a group of UA MileagePlus members that booked tickets on those flights - just to be along for the ride.
 
USA Today characterizes it as replacing old, inefficient 737s with new, fuel-efficient Airbuses.

That "paper" is really on fire today.
 
SCCutler said:
USA Today characterizes it as replacing old, inefficient 737s with new, fuel-efficient Airbuses.

That "paper" is really on fire today.
Click to expand...

Or it should be used only to start one or simply tossed into one.
 
SCCutler said:
USA Today characterizes it as replacing old, inefficient 737s with new, fuel-efficient Airbuses.

That "paper" is really on fire today.
Click to expand...

Journalist = euphemism for "Someone who barely graduated from high school."
 
SCCutler said:
USA Today characterizes it as replacing old, inefficient 737s with new, fuel-efficient Airbuses.
Click to expand...

That is kind of funny. When I hired on in '89, the 737-300/500s were coming on the property. IIRC, we had 37 on the property starting in '86. They were being used to replace the 737-200s and the 727/100s and they were the "fuel efficient" airplanes of the day. Kind of funny and sad how time marches on.
 
SCCutler said:
USA Today characterizes it as replacing old, inefficient 737s with new, fuel-efficient Airbuses.

That "paper" is really on fire today.
Click to expand...
It's probably right in this case. It's not a matter of 737 vs 320, but old 737 vs new 320.

I bet what's replacing the 737s at UX is CRJs :mad3:
 

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My partner was on the DEN-LAX and LAX-SFO legs. He didn't know that he was riding the last UAL 737 flight, but when he found out he thought it was cool to be a part of history. He said there were quite a few people at SFO to take pictures.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
That is kind of funny. When I hired on in '89, the 737-300/500s were coming on the property. IIRC, we had 37 on the property starting in '86. They were being used to replace the 737-200s and the 727/100s and they were the "fuel efficient" airplanes of the day. Kind of funny and sad how time marches on.
Click to expand...

Funny, too, how every day I walk by CAL's 12 foot wide poster touting their "newest and most fuel efficient fleet, led by their new 737-800/900ERs." It's all in who writes the press release, I guess.
 
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