Couple Who Fell in Love on a Flight Reunite With the Same Boeing 747 After 27 Years
Paul King kept six characters for 27 years: JA8094, the registration of the Boeing 747 where he met his future wife. In October, he and Asako stood in front of that same aircraft again, now a freighter, at Liège Airport in Belgium.
Magma Aviation hosted the couple, who married, had two daughters and built a life across several countries, the company said. They met in July 1999 on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight from Tokyo Narita to Washington Dulles, where Asako was a flight attendant.
How Their Love Story Began
Paul was one of only two passengers in First Class on the 13-hour flight, according to Magma. With such a quiet cabin, there was plenty of time to talk between passenger and flight attendant.
What began as a simple exchange gradually became something more meaningful, Magma said. By the time the aircraft landed in Washington, the two had made a connection that would lead to marriage.
Paul made sure he would not forget the aircraft. He kept a record of its registration, JA8094, as a reminder of the flight where he met his future wife. For 27 years, those six characters held special meaning for him.
Boeing 747 Reunion at Liège Airport
The aircraft has changed a great deal since 1999. It left passenger service, was converted into a freighter and re-registered as TF-AMP, and Air Atlanta has operated it since 2012, according to Magma.
Since 2017, TF-AMP has supported Magma’s global cargo operations as part of its Boeing 747 freighter capacity. The passenger seats and First Class cabin are gone, replaced by the infrastructure needed to carry cargo.
At Liège Airport, the couple was reunited with TF-AMP, the Boeing 747 that unknowingly played a key role in their lives. After 27 years, Paul stood before the aircraft where he first met his wife.
The interior looked very different from what the couple remembered, Magma said. The First Class section where Paul sat was gone, and Asako’s former workplace had become a cargo deck.
Asako, who once knew the cabin well, tried to picture how it used to look. She also brought her ANA flight attendant cap, a personal touch that recalled her time with the airline.
The couple spent time aboard, reminiscing about how they met and taking photographs. Magma’s operations team coordinated the visit despite the aircraft’s busy operational schedule.
Magma said TF-AMP, once a passenger jet, has now brought the couple together a second time, 27 years after the first. For the company, some journeys end when an aircraft lands, but this story stays with it for a lifetime.
