Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet

August 16, 2024

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The aviation industry witnessed the end of an era on Tuesday as Boeing made the final delivery of its iconic 747 “jumbo jet” model.

The famed plane — nicknamed the whale for its distinctive hump and formally known as the Queen of the Skies — has been in service since 1970.

It has logged tens of millions of miles carrying passengers around the world and will even been modified to fly the president on Air Force One.

The 747 was taken out of service by US carriers in 2017, though some remain in use abroad.

It has remained in service as a cargo plane, with the last and 1,574th, a model 747-8 Freighter, delivered to Atlas Air in Boeing’s hometown of Everett, Wash.

Thousands of current and former Boeing employees, customers and suppliers were in attendance to celebrate the final delivery.

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“It’s a very emotional experience, I know, for so many of the current team and so many that have lineage in the program over the many decades,” Kim Smith, Boeing’s vice president and general manager for the 747 and 767 programs, told Reuters.

Developed in the late 1960s, the first 747 made its debut for the now-defunct Pan Am in 1970. The wide-body jet was designed to facilitate larger passenger flights during a boom in air travel at the time.

Boeing took just 28 months to design and build the 747, which was the world’s first twin-aisle plane at the time of its debut. The model has long been produced out of the same Boeing plant in Everett.

Newer plane models produced by Boeing and its competitor, Netherlands-based Airbus, are more fuel efficient than the 747 and utilize two engines instead of four.

“If you love this business, you’ve been dreading this moment,” aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia told The Associated Press. “Nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore, but that doesn’t erase the tremendous contribution the aircraft made to the development of the industry or its remarkable legacy.”

Production of the 747 had slowed in recent years due to sagging demand. Boeing delivered just five of the planes last year, far less than its peak of 70 aircraft in 1990.

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Smith said that Boeing employees who worked on production were either reassigned to other roles or voluntarily retired.

Nevertheless, Boeing 747-9 planes are expected to remain in service as cargo freighters for the next several years.

Modified versions of two Boeing 747 planes will serve as replacements for the White House’s Air Force One. The planes are due for delivery in 2024 as part of a $3.9 billion contract.

Boeing’s 777X, its latest passenger plane model and projected replacement for the 747, is set for delivery in 2025.

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