With the delivery of the last commercial Boeing 747 to roll off the production line at its plant at Everett, Washington, the American planemaker is closing the final chapter in an over-fifty-year history of one of the world’s most iconic aircraft. The plane has been handed over to Atlas Air.
The switch from airlines to smaller, more economical aircraft saw the last passenger 747 delivered some five years ago. According to analytics firm Cirium, there are only 44 747 jets currently in operation, down from 130 in service at the end of 2019. Many of these jets were grounded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and have simply not returned to service, despite the Airbus A380 enjoying a current revival. However, there are still 314 747 freighters in use, according to Cirium, many of which were initially used as passenger jets before being renovated into freighters.
A literal ‘gamechanger’, the 747, also known as the “jumbo jet” revolutionized intercontinental air travel, while it was also used to provide piggy-back rides to the Space Shuttle. Our headline states that this is the delivery of the last 747 to be used for commercial purposes. However there remain two more 747s scheduled for delivery, though these are technically called VC-25s. These are destined to replace the two current 747s operating as presidential aircraft under the call sign “Air Force One” when the US president is on board. With the demise of the 747, the future plans for the Everett, Washington facilities remain uncertain. The building where the 747 was produced is claimed by Boeing to be the largest building in the world, having been purpose built for the 747. It has since served as the main production location for Boeing’s wide-body airliners, the 767, 777 and 787, but the 737 is built at the Renton, plant near Seattle.
More recently, Boeing also ceased production of the 787 Dreamliner at Everett, while the B767 is now showing signs of age and demand for the B777 remains sluggish, while everyone is waiting for the production of the B777X, which has suffered several delays and it is currently going through a certification and development process that is proving to be much lengthier and complex than expected.
