https://simpleflying.com/iron-maiden-747-now/ simpleflying.com [ ] * News + Airlines + Airports + Airbus + Boeing * By Region + Asia + Europe + North America + Rest Of World * Features + Analysis + History + Trip Reports + Passenger Experience + Sunday Reads * Exclusives * Podcast * Subscribe + Newsletters Follow Us Follow Simple Flying * * * * * * * * * * [ ] * Home * Analysis * Ed Force One: The Story Of The Iron Maiden Boeing 747 Then And Now Ed Force One: The Story Of The Iron Maiden Boeing 747 Then And Now By Joanna Bailey Updated Mar 24, 2022 Share Share Tweet Share Email The 19-year-old jumbo jet has certainly had a rock and roll career! Photo: Getty Images Iron Maiden's 'Ed Force One' Boeing 747 was everything a celebrity endorsement should be. Beautifully liveried and piloted by the lead singer himself, TF-AAK made star-studded appearances all over the world as part of the Book Of Souls world tour. But what happened to the Iron Maiden 747, and where is it now? The upgraded Ed Force One The Queen of the Skies has a cult-level fan following, so when a band with similar brand status hooked up with its very own 747, it was a match made in heaven. Nicknamed 'Ed Force One,' TF-AAK took the band around the globe on the 'Book Of Souls' world tour, frequently piloted by legendary frontman Bruce Dickinson himself. SIMPLEFLYING VIDEO OF THE DAY Of course, it wasn't the first plane Iron Maiden had at its disposal. From 2008 to 2009, a Boeing 757 with tail number G-OJIB took the band on tour for the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour. And in 2011, G-STRX was liveried up in The Final Frontier World Tour to become the newest Ed Force One. Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests. Despite the band's love for the smaller Boeings, for Dickinson, nothing could compare to the Queen of the Skies. Speaking to Blabbermouth in 2016, he said the 757 was just not big enough anymore. Considering the band's needs, he explained: "The [757] is just not big enough for what we've got in mind in terms of a show. So what we've got onboard at the moment is the stage show ... Everything we need will be on the airplane, and all the technicians and baggage and everything else. We're going all around the world [from] Perth, Australia to Cape Town, Shanghai to New Zealand. We're really going 'round the planet." Ed Force One had to carry epic amounts of gear. Photo: JOHN McMURTRIE via Iron Maiden Around the planet TF-AAK really did go around the planet for Iron Maiden. Launching from Cardiff, it headed to the west. Stopping at various points around the States, it headed down to Mexico, to gigs in Central America and then down to South America. In Santiago, Chile, it was damaged in a collision with a tug, but was rapidly repaired and sent back on its way. Simple Flying took a closer look at this incident last month. The first leg of the tour saw it traverse the US and head down to South America. Image: FlightRadar24.com It continued the tour around North America, taking in major venues in the USA and Canada. Then it was across to Asia for performances in Japan and China, before heading south to New Zealand and Australia. Asia and Oceania saw visits from Ed Force One. Image: FlightRadar24.com The band then hit South Africa before heading north to perform 51 dates around Europe. Finally, they headed back to North America for additional tour bookings. South Africa and Europe should have concluded the tour, but the band announced additional dates in North America too. Image: FlightRadar24.com The final performance was in Brooklyn in July 2017, by which time the band had played 117 shows in 36 countries to more than 1.3 million fans. It earned them more than $91 million and cemented their place in rock history. But what became of the 747-400? As it happens, it remains in service, and was even airborne today! Life after Iron Maiden According to data from ATDB.aero, TF-AAK wore its Ed Force One livery from February to June 2016. At the end of this period, it flew 350 Icelandic football fans to Marseille, France for the country's Euro 2016 fixture against Hungary. It then flew back to Keflavik on June 19th, arriving just after 17:00. The very same day, at around 21:00, TF-AAK flew off to the Middle East to start the next phase of its career. The aircraft's stunning livery was removed in August 2016. Photo: Getty Images After a month in maintenance to get re-liveried, TF-AAK rolled out of the hangar in full Saudi Arabian Airlines colors. Still owned by Air Atlanta Icelandic, it joined the Middle Eastern airline on lease, taking the number of 747-400s in its service at the time to six. Only three, including TF-AAK, were passenger 747s. After joining the fleet, TF-AAK saw regular service with the airline, flying between Jeddah and several key destinations, including Surabaya, Addis Ababa and Dhaka. Sadly, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic forced Saudia to park the jet up in March 2020. This saw it join two of its counterparts in storage in Jeddah @simpleflying Did you know British metal band Iron Maiden flew on a Boeing 747 captained by vocalist Bruce Dickinson? #flying # aviation #travel #boeing747 #747 Rock 'n' Roll Star - Oasis Despite the demise of the 747 around the world, TF-AAK was relatively young at the time of being placed into storage. Data from FlightRadar24.com in June 2020 showed that Saudia had operated a 22-minute circular flight from Jeddah, likely for maintenance purposes. This raised eyebrows among the avgeek community, with many hoping that it would be permanently back in the skies before long. Worth the wait In the end, it took rather longer for the aircraft to get back in the skies. Despite making the aforementioned circular flight in June 2020, it didn't leave storage until well over a year later, in October 2021. However, since then, it has been keeping itself very busy, and was actually airborne at the time of writing. Having flown from Dubai to Maastricht yesterday, today saw it continue to New York. In recent weeks, TF-AAK has primarily been flying between Dubai and New York via Maastricht. Image: FlightRadar24.com It is worth noting that TF-AAK is now using flight numbers prefixed with Air Atlantic Icelandic's 'CC' code, rather than that of Saudia. Indeed, data from ch-aviation.com shows that, while the Middle Eastern Airline does still have three 747s in its fleet, TF-AAK is not one of them. The site also notes that it now mainly flies cargo. In terms of the aircraft's wider life story, it recently turned 19 years old, having first flown on March 5th, 2003. It initially flew for Air France, and served the French flag carrier for more than 12 years before eventually leaving in October 2015 to join Air Atlantic Icelandic. As of December 31st, 2021, it had accrued 68,812 hours across 8,814 cycles giving an average stage length of seven hours and 49 minutes. What do you make of TF-AAK's story? Have you ever seen, or even flown on, this impressive aircraft? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments! Emirates Continues Dubai Airport Innovations With New Terminal 3 Check-in Ports Read Next Share Share Tweet Share Email Related Topics * Analysis * Notification * Worldwide * Iron Maiden 747 * Ed force One * TF-AAK About The Author Joanna Bailey (2684 Articles Published) Managing Editor - Joanna has worked in publishing for more than a decade and is fast becoming a go-to source for commercial aviation analysis. Providing commentary for outlets including the BBC, CNBC, Reuters Thomson and others, she works closely with IATA, AviaDev and various airlines and suppliers to get the inside track on the global marketplace. More From Joanna Bailey Popular Boeing News 737 MAX Production Continues For Chinese Carriers As Recertification Awaits Airline News IndiGo Hacked By Passenger After His Baggage Was Lost Analysis Why Do LOT and Finnair Want To Fly To Mumbai? Airline News Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900 Returns To Boston After Tail Strike Analysis Is airBaltic Angling Itself To Join Star Alliance? 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