EVA Air says goodbye to the Boeing 747 passenger jet

Another airline has said its final goodbye to the Boeing 747 passenger jet Monday, as Taiwan-based EVA Air retired its last passenger version of the jumbo jet in Taipei. Throngs of aviation enthusiasts gathered in Hong Kong to join the airplane for its final flight to EVA's Taipei headquarters. Pressed against the glass, they snapped photos and traded stories with one another while waiting to board. “This is part of the reason I joined the aviation-industry,” said passenger Benjamin Hui of Hong Kong before boarding the jet. Hui worked as a loadmaster on the jet, and EVA 747s were some of the first airplanes he serviced. On the flight deck, Capt. Dave Grose and first officer Ali Shu were readying the airplane for its final departure but found it tough to get any work done, thanks to the never-ending queue of passengers hoping to pay them a visit. Fliers packed the airplane's cozy upper deck and clogged the stairwell in the moments before pushback and taxi. Visitors snapped photos, posed for selfies, and asked the two pilots to sign all manner of memorabilia. For a jet that has served many airlines since the 1970s -- especially in Asia -- EVA's nearly 25-year run is comparatively short. But the addition of the plane to the EVA fleet in 1992 enabled the then-fledgling airline to spread its wings on trans-Pacific routes that had previously been beyond its reach.<br/>