Gallery: Lufthansa 737 final flight
A dedicated check-in at Frankfurt Airport welcomes passengers for the Lufthansa 737 farewell flight.
Head of Lufthansa Boeing 737 fleet, Ulrich Pade, personally cleans his cockpit window.
The captain gives a final touch on cleaning the cockpit window.
A Lufthansa flight attendant, dressed in a uniform from 1979, welcomed ATW on board.
Harry Hohmeister, executive board member and chief officer-hub management, told ATW correspondent Kurt Hofmann that Lufthansa had been a major force in developing the Boeing 737 in the 1960s.
Lufthansa 737 farewell flight crew.
Safety demonstration.
Harry Hohmeister, executive board member and chief officer-hub management, waves farewell to the 737.
The Lufthansa Boeing 737-300 leaves a shadow on the tarmac at Frankfurt as it takes off on its final flight to Hamburg.
Ulrich Pade, head of the Lufthansa Boeing 737 fleet, pilots the 48-minute sector to Hamburg. He will now become a Boeing 747 captain.
Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg also celebrated the last 737 flight.
Lufthansa operated 148 Boeing 737s over five decades, including the variants 737-100, 200, 200C, 300, 300 QC (quick change), 400 and 500. Lufthansa Technik (LHT) chairman and CEO Johannes Bussmann said LHT still has 567 737s under contract from 43 airlines for maintenance.
The very last flight with passengers, LH9923, en route from Hamburg to Frankfurt. Over 48 years, Lufthansa transported around 250 million passengers on board the 737.
After touch down in Frankfurt, the airport also paid tribute to the Lufthansa 737 fleet, which completed nearly 5.5 million landings.
The last crew members leaving the aircraft.
Finally, the captain closed the door of the Lufthansa Boeing 737 for the very last time.
Lufthansa phased out its last Boeing 737 with a final scheduled flight from Nurnberg to Frankfurt Oct. 29. The Boeing twin-engine narrowbody has been in service for nearly 50 years. ATW was invited to join a special Frankfurt-Hamburg farewell flight Oct. 31.