The first Boeing 747 at the Everett assembly line.
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Boeing is bidding farewell to its last-ever Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
The event marks the end of a revolutionary era that changed the way people travel.
The enormous plane was a marvel that played many roles, like carrying the space shuttle.
The Boeing 747 is one of the greatest feats of aerospace engineering and was an global success for the American planemaker.
British Airways Boeing 747-400.
For over 50 years, the aircraft shuttled travelers to nearly every continent across the globe, connecting people to more places than ever before.
Boeing 747.
No longer did customers have to stop for fuel on flights between the US and Asia or Australia — the 747 could operate these routes nonstop.
Qantas used the 747 as its transpacific workhorse.
It wasn't long before the jumbo jet earned the hearts of airlines and passengers alike, becoming one the most beloved airliners in history and outliving equally popular planes like the Concorde.
A British Airways and an Air France Concorde pass each other at JFK.
The jet's longtime success can be seen in the numbers, with the huge plane shuttling over 5.9 billion people across 75.5 billion miles as of 2020, which is enough to fly to the Moon and back to Earth 137,000 times.
Lufthansa is one of the few airlines passengers can still fly on the 747.
What was once a marvel for international transport eventually became a cost liability, and most airlines worldwide have ditched the plane in favor of more efficient jets, like the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A350.
Airbus A350-1000.
The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the problem as carriers were already bleeding cash and needed to let go of expensive assets.
Boeing 747's at Pinal Air Park, which is an aircraft graveyard.
As a result, the 747 became a common casualty of COVID-19 as travel demand plummeted, with many airlines, like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways, saying goodbye to the iconic double-decker forever.
The last British Airways 747 to take off from London Heathrow.
Boeing also decided to retire the program, having built over 1,550 jumbos. The final 747 rolled off the assembly line in Everett, Washington, on December 6, and was delivered to its final owner, Atlas Air, on Tuesday.
Boeing's last 747 rolled out of the Everett assembly line.
"This is the symbol of innovation for our country," Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told Bloomberg at the delivery ceremony. "This airplane will fly for another fifty years, so it's not as if we're putting it to bed — it's simply we're producing our last."
Boeing's last 747 rolled out of the Everett assembly line.
Although the 747 is ending its nearly 53-year reign, its revolutionary design changed the industry as we know it. Here are seven things that made the Queen of the Skies truly remarkable.
First Boeing 747-8F flight.
Boeing
1: The legendary aircraft was built on request by Pan American World Airways founder and CEO Juan Trippe.
New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey (right) and Juan Trippe (left) in a Clipper cockpit with their two pilots.
At the time, Pan Am was already flying Boeing's quad-engine 707, which was the company's first jetliner and ushered in the jet age for air travel.
Pan Am Boeing 707
But, as demand skyrocketed, the industry needed bigger and better planes that could fly farther than any other commercial aircraft could.
Pan Am 747-100.
So, Trippe went to Boeing in 1965 and asked for a plane more than twice the size of the 707…
A Pan Am Boeing 707 next to a Pan Am Boeing 747, showing the size difference.
…and it didn't take much for the manufacturing giant to jump on the opportunity, especially after recently losing out on a contract to build the massive C-5A military transport plane.
People in line to enter the 445th Airlift Wing's first C-5A Galaxy in 2005
2: The 747 was built by a team of some 50,000 Boeing employees, known as the "Incredibles."
First Boeing 747 surrounded by employees and other admirers.
The workers were made up of engineers, mechanics, secretaries, and construction workers, among others, and built the plane in about 16 months in the late 1960s.
The first Boeing 747 at the Everett assembly line.
"We assembled the first 747 in snowstorms as they were constructing the building around us," wrote Boeing Incredible Dwight Bates in a 2016 post published on the planemaker's website.
Inside the factory in Washington where Boeing built its last Boeing 747s, pictured in June 2022.
He explained the conditions of being an Incredible meant sleeping at their desks and working crazy overtime hours. Not to mention, they were under immense pressure after being told they'll lose the company if they didn't get the 747 FAA-certified.
Boeing Incredibles building Boeing 747s in 1969.
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Fortunately, their efforts didn’t go to waste. Led by veteran Boeing engineer Joe Sutter, who is known as the “father of the 747,” the iconic plane took its first flight in 1969 and was in commercial service with Pan Am in 1970.
The flight crew after the first Pan Am 747 flight from New York to London Heathrow in 1970.
3: The 747 was the world's first widebody passenger aircraft and the first with a partial second level.
A United Boeing 747 in the carrier's old livery.
Boeing created five different 747 variants: the 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, 747-400, and the 747-8, which were bought by dozens of airlines, like Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Delta Air Lines.
A lineup of Boeing 747s.
Museum of Flight Foundation/Contributor via Getty Images
From there, several models of each type were produced, like the 747-400F freighter and the 747-200C convertible, which can be used for both passenger and cargo operations.
An EVA Air Cargo Boeing 747-400F aircraft.
Powered by four General Electric engines, it can reach speeds of about 660 miles per hour and fly up 8,895 miles. This means the plane can zoom across three FIFA soccer fields in one second.
A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i engine.
The advanced specs have come a long way since Boeing's first 747-100, which could only fly up to 602 miles per hour across about 5,300 miles.
An Iran Air Boeing 747-100.
But, the original variant's innovative widebody design paved the way for high capacity, with Pan Am's carrying 347 people. The 747-8i, by comparison, can accommodate up to 467 passengers in three classes.
Inside Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8i.
Not only did the jet feature revolutionary performance and seating, but it also came with a unique "hump" that made it easily recognizable by travelers.
Maiden flight of the 747-8i.
Boeing created the iconic hump on the 747 because Trippe didn't think the plane would be a commercial hit and wanted it to be easily converted into a freighter.
A Boeing 747 freighter being built in Washington in June 2022.
This meant the nose needed to be able to open, which made this an unfavorable place to put the cockpit. So, Boeing moved the flight deck higher up, which also contributed to better aerodynamics.
Boeing 747-400 cargo loading.
Over time, the upper deck has grown to create more room for first and business class seats and amenities.
First class passengers in a BOAC Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet are served lunch.
The only other commercial airliner to truly compete with the Queen of the Skies was the Airbus A380, which had a second level that stretched the full length of the jet.
An Emirates Airbus A380.
The mammoth plane can carry up to 545 people in four classes and became a workhorse for airlines like Emirates, complete with a shower spa onboard for first class passengers.
Inside the cabin of a Lufthansa A380, which can carry up to 853 passengers in a maximum capacity layout.
However, the superjumbo has also met its own end, with Airbus ending production in 2021 and airlines worldwide speeding up the A380's retirement during the pandemic.
Air France retired its A380s during the pandemic.
4: The revolutionary Queen of the Skies made international travel accessible for more than just the rich and famous.
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i flight deck.
The 747 was considered a step up from the 707 with its size, range, and low operating costs, which are thanks to its more powerful bypass engines that could reduce fuel consumption by 33% compared.
The TWA "Star of Paris" Boeing 747 after it landed at Orly airport in 1970.
And, because the jet could carry twice as many people compared to its predecessor, airlines could reduce fares without sacrificing passenger comfort.
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i economy. Airlines can fit 10-abreast rows on the plane.
This effectively changed the way people fly, and for the first time allowed those who couldn't afford a seat on the 707 to travel to places that were previously unreachable.
Passengers inside the cabin of a 747 in 1970.
Gerhard Rauchwetter/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
5: The double-decker plane featured bars and lounges on its upper level, which was accessed via a staircase.
A BOAC air hostess greets a passenger in front of a spiral staircase which leads to the upper deck lounge in a Boeing 747 Monarch
In the early days of the jet age, flying was often a high-class experience with travelers dressing up for the occasion.
Interior of a British European Airways' Vickers airliner showing the passenger section.
Through the 1960s, airlines started playing around with different cabin ideas, like business and economy, and some carriers decided to use the 747's upper level as an exclusive space reserved for premium customers.
Lufthansa 747 lounge.
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Pan Am's first 747 had a "restaurant in the sky" for first class passengers who could sit at four-person tables with friends or strangers.
Meanwhile, Australian flag carrier Qantas had the Captain Cook Lounge in its 747's upper deck where premium flyers could relax, drink, or read a newspaper.
Probably the most impressive feat is the two 747-100s that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration asked Boeing to convert into Space Carrier Aircraft.
The planes — one from American Airlines and the other from Japan Airlines — carried the shuttles from their landing sites to the Kennedy Space Center, and to other locations that were too far to travel by ground transport.
Moreover, most of the cabin was gutted, the pilots had special monitoring systems for the shuttle, and two extra vertical stabilizers were added to enhance the 747's "directional stability."
While the 707 had the job for nearly 30 years, two 747-200B variants were modified in 1990 to create Air Force One.
Air Force One as a Boeing 707 carrying Eisenhower in 1959.
Having carried presidents like George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama, the plane can refuel midair and is considered a flying Oval Office with myriad office and conference space, as well as staterooms.
President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, La., Nov. 8, 2013.
However, both VIP jets are being upgraded to the more efficient and longer-ranged 747-8i variant, though they will not be able to refuel in the air and the timeline for delivery has been pushed from 2024 to potentially 2028.
Trump exiting Air Force One.
The jet is one of the biggest cargo planes in the world due to its oversized fuselage and was designed to transport 787 parts — like the wings — between global assembly lines.
Wings being loaded into a Dreamlifter.
Specifically, the four-strong fleet each has 65,000 cubic meters of capacity, where oversized cargo is loaded through the giant plane's swing-tail door.
While Boeing's primary customer of the Dreamlifter is itself, it was also used during the pandemic to transport COVID-related supplies, like face shields, protective eye goggles, and masks.
Atlas Air operated the special mission.
The door reduces load time for carriers as they can also simultaneously load from the back of the jet, but also allows for oversized items to be loaded without first being dismantled.
Boeing 747 cargo hold.
Airbus' Beluga, Ukraine's Antonov An-124, and the US Air Force's C-5 Galaxy cargo planes also have nose doors, but they are not widely used by multiple global carriers as the 747 is.
The Antonov An-225 was the world's largest cargo plane with nose-loading capabilities, but it was destroyed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
However, with the production of the 747 complete, the nose-loading perk with be missed as more cargo carriers ditch the jet for better cost-efficient aircraft.
Air France A350F rendering.
"The nose loader for oversized freight is what makes her so unique and capable to transport things other planes can't," a 747 cargo pilot told Insider in 2020.
A Qatar Airways Boeing 747-8F.
Not only will cargo operators miss the beloved 747, but so will passengers.
BOAC Boeing 747
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Ameer Junejo, who manages a 747 converted into a hotel in Sweden, told Insider that the jet has "memories," saying pilots and couples visit his site to reminisce about their days onboard.
Lufthansa is one of the few airlines passengers can still fly on the 747.
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While it is much harder these days to fly on the jumbo jet, several can still be explored as tourist attractions, like Delta Air Lines' 747 Museum in Atlanta, Georgia…
Delta Flight Museum 747.
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