Union Airlines Boeing 747-400

As the Jet Age progressed into the 1990s and the original 747 airframe had exhausted it’s potential, Boeing launched a venture to create a revolutionary new variant of the classic airliner. Though not a launch customer, Union was the first airline to bring the 747-400 to California, operating the jet in the foggy San Francisco Bay Area.

The first Union 747-400 arrived in June of 1989. Later that year, it was demonstrated for the first time at San Francisco’s 1989 Fleet Week, doing a signature low-pass of the Golden Gate Bridge and passing over a marveling audience with it’s revolutionary CF6 engines. This demonstration catapulted the Union 747-400 into a household name of many Bay Area residents.

However, the UNA 744 was not confined to the household. The “Queen” could be spotted as far south as Johannesburg and Sydney, even venturing to Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport before it closed in 1998. Despite success in the 90s, the Union 747-400 was faced with competition from Boeing’s new 777 family. In 2016, the final UNA 747 flew from San Francisco to Boston, stopping at Union’s hubs across the US. A similar tour was held in Asia for the Union fans overseas.

Though gone today, Union’s 747-400 fleet remains a fond memory of Bay Area residents. Most former UNA 744s sit in scrapyards today, while some examples remain flying as freighters in foreign countries.