Cathay Pacific Airways in the end of August 2014 reached a historic milestone. The airline has now said adieu to the “Queen of the Skies”, the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which it flew for nearly 30 years after having launched its maiden flight to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in July 1986.

Cathay Pacific Airways in a statement said that its only remaining Boeing 747-400 aircraft in North America made its final journey from San Francisco International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport on August 31, 2014. The final flight CX879 took off from San Francisco International Airport at 1.45 pm PDT.

The airline in a statement said that the flight CX879 will now join its other daily flight CX873 to San Francisco in a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft effective from September 1, 2014. Cathay Pacific Airways is presently conducting flight services to its six other North American gateways including Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Newark, Los Angeles and Chicago with the help of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

The airline is planning to launch flights to Boston, its 7th North American gateway from May 2015. The flights will be operated between Hong Kong and Boston four times every week utilizing a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Tom Owen, Cathay Pacific Airways’ Senior Vice President – Americas, said that the Boeing 747-400 aircraft in fact placed the airline on the global map and significantly helped it to evolve into a world-class carrier. He said that the aircraft played a vital role in the airline’s overall long-haul evolution.

Owen said that the time finally came to bid farewell to the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which the airline did. Cathay Pacific Airways also at the same time feels proud in possessing one of the youngest fleets in the world. He said that the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft being operated on all its North American routes effective from September 1, 2014 is quite environmentally beneficial and fuel-efficient.

Cathay Pacific Airways has gradually expanded its global footprint in a massive way by including flight services to several international destinations including Manchester, Zurich, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Brisbane, London, Vancouver and San Francisco. The airline is presently offering 111 weekly flights to Hong Kong and beyond, including the U.S., Canada and Mainland China.