It’s over after more than 50 years: The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has handed over its last 747 jumbo jet to the customer Atlas Air.
At a ceremony at the Boeing plant in Everett near Seattle, the company celebrated the departure of the classic aircraft once celebrated as the “Queen of the Skies”. Board member Stan Deal spoke of an “aircraft that changed the world forever”. Boeing had already announced the end of production in 2020 due to a lack of demand. Overall, Boeing made 1574 copies of the giant aircraft. The airlines now prefer smaller and more economical machines with two instead of four engines.
What was once the largest passenger jet in the world completed its maiden flight in 1969, and around a year later the first example went into scheduled service with the then US airline Pan Am. With the latest variant 747-8, which has a longer upper deck, new wings and more economical engines and offers space for more than 600 passengers, Boeing was only able to score points with a few airlines. Most long-haul airlines now use models that are not quite as large as the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” and 777 and the Airbus A350. Most recently, the 747 was practically only produced as a freighter version.
