It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight.
But over about the past 15 years, Boeing and its European rival Airbus have introduced more profitable and fuel efficient wide-body planes, with only two engines to maintain instead of the 747′s four. The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.
Boeing set out to build the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport, the C-5A. The idea was to take advantage of the new engines developed for the transport — high-bypass turbofan engines, which burned less fuel by passing air around the engine core, enabling a farther flight range — and to use them for a newly imagined civilian aircraft.
Some airlines turned the second deck into a first-class cocktail lounge, while even the lower deck sometimes featured lounges or even a piano bar. One decommissioned 747, originally built for Singapore Airlines in 1976, has been converted into a 33-room hotel near the airport in Stockholm. An updated model — the 747-400 series — arrived in the late 1980s and had much better timing, coinciding with the Asian economic boom of the early 1990s, Aboulafia said. He recalled taking a Cathay Pacific 747 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong as a twentysomething backpacker in 1991.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jetBoeing bids farewell to an icon on Tuesday: It's delivering its final 747 jumbo jet
Read more »
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jetSEATTLE (AP) — Boeing bids farewell to an icon on Tuesday: It’s delivering its final 747 jumbo jet. Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA's space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft.
Read more »
Farewell to a flying icon: Boeing delivers its last 747 jumbo jetBoeing is delivering its final 747 jumbo jet, an aircraft that was once dubbed the Queen of the Skies and that helped revolutionize air travel.
Read more »
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jetBoeing bids farewell to an icon on Tuesday: It’s delivering its final 747 jumbo jet. FOX13
Read more »
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jetEND OF AN ERA: Boeing delivers the last 747 jumbo jet. Since 1969, the company has built 1,574 of the massive airplanes.
Read more »
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivering its last 747 jumbo jetSince its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA’s space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft.
Read more »