Boeing receives final order for 747, ending production of legendary airliner

Aviation Geeks know that day would arrive since July, but Boeing’s confirmation on Monday that it will end production of its 747 jumbo jet next year is still bad news to swallow. The last plane to come out of the mammoth factory that Boeing deliberately built to manufacture the double-decker aircraft over 50 years ago will be four 747-8 freighters ordered by Atlas Air.

Priced at around $ 149 million each, the plane will go heavy and critical work of air cargo flying around the world. Although the passenger version of the 747 with its staircase and its so exclusive upper deck has rightly won the title of Queen of heaven, it’s perfectly fitting that the pioneer airliner ends on a cargo note.

Boeing developed the passenger version of the giant aircraft only after losing a competition in 1965 to build a large military transport for the US Air Force. (Lockheed won this battle with its plan for the C5A Galaxy) Produced by Pan Am, Boeing then redesigned its transport concept to carry people instead.

After becoming a bestseller with commercial airlines, the 747’s success as a freighter was not only due to its immense size (the 747-8 can hold 137.7 tonnes of cargo), but also because its nose swivel allowed easy loading of cargo. . Airbus tried to outdo Boeing with a cargo version of its an even bigger A380, but he never found any buyers.

Boeing has already ceased production of its 747-8 Intercontinental passenger version, and she and 747 previous versions are an incredibly rare sight in the skies these days. Airlines had already withdrawn the plane in recent years, but when the Covid-19 pandemic clearly reduced air travel around the world, the last 747 sales people have landed in earnest.

Boeing says it will deliver the last plane to Atlas Air in 2022. Since the first flight 747 on February 9, 1969, Boeing has built 1,560,747 planes.