The end of production for arguably the world’s best-known plane is almost certain to occur within a few months.
Confirmation that a global cargo airline will likely take delivery of its final Boeing 747 in December is the nail in the coffin for the famed jumbo jet.
It will end a remarkable run for the 747, which first flew in 1969 and which, through its various models, has been in constant production for more than half a century.
Known as the “Queen of the Skies,” the 747, with its distinctive hump on the upper deck, was a common sight at international airports for decades.
But the trend towards smaller, more fuel-efficient and cheaper-to-run planes, as well as the havoc Covid-19 wreaked on the industry, saw the 747 fall out of favor and many airlines phased them out of their fleets.
Qantas once operated 30 747s flying from Australia to destinations including Los Angeles, Singapore, London, Frankfurt, Johannesburg and Santiago. But it retired its last jumbo jet in June 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing.
The final 747 deliveries have been confirmed
New York-based Atlas Air, whose planes are often seen in Australia, has said it expects the remaining three 747-8 Freighters to be delivered by the end of the year.
The trio of jets is the final standard delivery of the 747 in Boeing’s order books.
“The acquisition of these wide-cargo vessels demonstrates our confidence in the demand for international air cargo capacity, particularly in express, e-commerce and fast-growing markets, and will generate strong returns for Atlas in the coming years,” the airline said in a statement. .
All that will be left to build after the Atlas Air planes will be two heavily modified 747s for the US government to replace the current Air Force One planes. These are so modified that they are not actually known as 747s but “VC-25s”.
While there is no exact date set for the last delivery of a regular 747, it is likely to happen sometime in December.
Images have emerged of at least one of the last three planes being worked on at Boeing’s Seattle factory.
Boeing has signaled for some time that the jumbo jet was on its last wings. In July 2020, when the Atlas Air order was announced, the Chicago-based company said the planes would mark the end of production.
“Atlas Air began operations 28 years ago with a single 747 and it is fitting that they receive the last of the production 747 aircraft, ensuring that the ‘Queen of the Skies’ will play an important role in the global air cargo market for decades to come, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said at the time.
The 747 first flew in 1969. The now-defunct PanAm was the inaugural airline to take delivery of the ground-breaking aircraft that could fly more people farther than ever before.
For Australians, it helped reduce the so-called “kangaroo route” with its multiple stops there from London to a single stop halfway between the UK and Australia.
Airbus’ giant A380 superjumbo was designed to take on the 747. More than 250 were built, but by the time the A380 entered service, airlines were already trending toward smaller planes with two gasoline engines instead of four.
The A380 was in production for 17 years, with the last one rolling off the production line in 2021. Qantas continues to operate the superjumbo.
While the 747 was in production for much longer, it was also hit by the same forces as the A380.
A new version, the 747-8 introduced in the mid-2000s, was longer and larger than any other version of the jumbo jet.
Boeing had hoped to sell 300 747-8s, driving customers away from the A380, but managed to shift barely half that number. Of the passenger airlines that still flew jumbos in recent decades, more opted for the Airbus version than the Boeing version.
Two-thirds of the 747-8s went to cargo carriers that liked them for their ability to swallow large amounts of cargo.
The 747 will fly for decades to come with most airframes having an operational life of at least twenty years. Cargo airlines can usually wait a few more years.
But the chances of flying as a passenger aboard a 747 are rapidly diminishing. Most of the major international airlines have abandoned planes altogether. Hundreds are rusting in remote airports or being eaten to pieces.
Qantas has two preserved 747s, one at Longreach, Queensland and the other is cared for by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society at Shellharbour Airport, south of Sydney.
Of the major passenger carriers, few still have the jumbo in their fleets. These airlines are Air China, Lufthansa of Germany, Korean Air and Asiana of Korea.
So if you’re going to Beijing, Shanghai, Frankfurt or Seoul, you can still catch a ride on a 747.
But if you’re going elsewhere the days of the 747 are over.
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