Why Delta Air Lines' Boneyard Boeing 747s Are Quietly Keeping UPS & Atlas Air Freighters In The Sky

Delta Air Lines ferried its final Boeing 747-400 to the Arizona desert on January 3, 2018. At that time, aviation media framed the flight as the solemn funeral of American passenger jumbo service. Aircraft registration N674US touched down in the Sonoran Desert after decades of transpacific flying, bringing an end to an era for the type. It seems that the final ferry flight was far from a total retirement. In reality, it activated a vital donor system that continues to power global supply chains today.