Search Travel Market Report

mainlogo
www.travelmarketreport.com
  • News
  • Packaged Travel
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Air
  • Training & Resources
  • Who We Are
    • Brian Israel
    • Briana Bonfiglio
    • Candace Protzman
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Dori Saltzman
    • Jennifer Arango
    • Kelly Fontenelle
    • Louis Intreglia
    • Tom McCarthy

The Iconic Boeing 747 Ends Its 50-Year Run

by Barbara Peterson / December 19, 2022
The Iconic Boeing 747 Ends Its 50-Year Run

The last Boeing 747 rolled off the Boeing assembly line earlier this month. Photo: Fasttailwind/Shutterstock.com

The Boeing 747 jetliner, the bulbous-nosed behemoth that effectively kicked off the era of mass tourism, has left the building. 

But the ending, when it came, was a bit anticlimactic. Boeing hadn’t produced a passenger version of the widebody in several years, and the last model that rolled off the assembly line in Seattle earlier this month was a freighter version built for cargo line Atlas Air.

Out of a total of 1,574 747s built over its lifetime, just around 100 are still in service.  Most airlines had retired their 747 fleets in favor of a new generation of long-haul aircraft, which carry fewer people than the 450-passenger giant, and, with just two engines versus the 747’s four, burn less fuel.

Still, few airplanes have ever generated the kind of excitement that the 747 did when it debuted in 1970. It was, after all, the world’s first widebody passenger aircraft, and international travelers accustomed to the cramped confines of planes like the single-aisle 707 were wowed.  

Last Boeing 747 Lufthansa
Photo:  fivetonine / Shutterstock.com

“It was a great plane,” British Airways CEO Sean Doyle said at a recent ceremony at New York JFK Airport marking its move to partner American’s Terminal 8.  “There’s a lot of nostalgia and love for it.”  But he seemed to sum up the general industry mood when he said: “the future is about modern aircraft, more efficiency, more sustainable solutions.” BA sent its remaining 747s to the aircraft boneyard in mid-2020.

Some airlines have stoked the nostalgia factor even as they were parking their own 747s. Take United, which once had a sizable fleet of the jumbos that it acquired from Pan Am, the original launch customer for the plane.  In announcing the plane’s retirement in 2017, United promoted a farewell tour, along with commemorative souvenirs and amenities kits.

The fact that the aircraft entered service on storied, but now defunct, carriers like Pan Am, TWA, and Braniff, also plays into the notion of it as a symbol of the supposed “golden age of air travel,”   as opposed to the crowded planes and flight disruptions most of us associate with air travel these days.

Last Boeing 747
Photo: Craig Russell/Shutterstock.com

But some experts say that the 747 was instrumental in getting us to this point.

“It transformed the way people could travel around the world,” said Clive Irving, a veteran journalist and author of the book JUMBO: The Making of the 747. Its large payload dramatically reduced the airlines’ costs per seat mile, he noted, making it possible to lower fares and operate profitably. Airlines were soon packing planes with budget-minded leisure travelers while maintaining a first-class product for those who could afford it.

The additional real estate also led to lavish premium sections with amenities like piano bars; some carriers configured the plane’s small upper deck as a business class with a private jet feel.  But the main difference was that with a 20-foot-wide cabin interior and two aisles, passengers had a sense of space no matter where they were sitting.  “It freed people from the tube,”  of the earliest jet models, said Irving.

Safety was also a high priority. 

“The people who designed it were keenly aware that a plane carrying far more people than any before it, had to be a very robust plane,” said Irving. “Because if it did crash, it would kill a lot more people.”  Redundancies were built into every aspect of the design, from the four engines to multiple hydraulic systems. There were some high-profile air disasters involving the 747 – including the terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in 1988, TWA 800 in 1996, and the worst aviation crash in history, the head-on collision of two 747s at a fogged-in airport in Tenerife in 1977, in which 583 people died.  None of these involved the airworthiness of the plane, Irving points out.

Ironically, with the demise of the 747 and the decision of Airbus to end production of its double-decker Airbus A380, passengers might have to get used to flying “in the tube” again, Irving said.  That’s because the latest aircraft trend is towards the development of long-distance single-aisle jets, such as the narrowbody Airbus A321 XLR, which have the range to fly over the Atlantic or from the U.S. to South America. They can also fly between smaller markets where a jumbo would be impractical.  But whatever the benefits of the next generation of planes, there will always be those who will miss those inflight cocktail lounges and showers of the widebody’s heyday.  

  10
  0
Related Articles
American Airlines Fined $4 Million by DOT for Tarmac Delays
American Airlines Adds New Flight to Governor’s Harbour, Bahamas
Report: Boeing Slowing Delivery of 787 Dreamliner Because of Production Issue
American Airlines Is Now Flying to the British Virgin Islands
Federal Judge Strikes Down American Airlines and JetBlue’s 'Northeast Alliance'
WestJet Pilots Could Strike as Soon as Friday
American Airlines Pilots Vote to Strike
Here Are the Best U.S. Airlines, According to Customer Satisfaction Ratings
American Airlines Rolls Out NDC Content on Sabre, Despite Concerns From the Travel Industry
American Airlines to Debut NDC Content on Sabre on April 3

MOST VIEWED

  1. FAA Issues Nationwide Ground Stop for United Airlines Flights
  2. Maui Fires Update: Which Hotels and Resorts Are Open and Closed After Lahaina Fires
  3. Southwest Airlines Strike Seems Imminent
  4. Hurricane Lee's Uncertain Path Raises Some Travel Concerns
  5. Hurricane Lee Intensifies to Category 5: Caribbean and U.S. Impact Uncertain
  6. Hurricane Lee Update: Storm Poses Threat to New England and Atlantic Canada


  1. Tropical Storm Lee Could Hit the Caribbean this Weekend
  2. Royal Caribbean Monitoring Haiti Violence
  3. Updated Cruise Line COVID-19 Vaccination, Booster, & Testing Requirements
  4. Celebrity Cruises Removes Gratuities from "All Included" Pricing
  5. Hurricane Lee Forecast to Rapidly Strengthen into the Weekend
  6. Delta Air Lines Makes Major Changes to SkyMiles Status and Sky Club Access Rules
TMR Subscription

Subscribe today to receive daily in-depth coverage, analysis of industry news, trends and issues that affect how you do business. Subscribe now for free.

Subscribe to TMR

Top Stories
Amsterdam Is Increasing Tourist Taxes for Land and Cruise Guests in 2024
Amsterdam Is Increasing Tourist Taxes for Land and Cruise Guests in 2024

Amsterdam is boosting its tourist tax.

Read...
Quark Expeditions Launches New Arctic 2025 Season: “Rethink Your Bucket List”
Quark Expeditions Launches New Arctic 2025 Season: “Rethink Your Bucket List”

Quark Expeditions, the global leader in polar adventures, invites travelers to boldly rethink their bucket list in Arctic 2025 and choose destinations that take them beyond the standard and overly popular travel experiences. 

Read...
Club Med’s First South Africa Resort Set to Begin Construction
Club Med’s First South Africa Resort Set to Begin Construction

The first Club Med resort in South Africa is slated to open in 2026.

Read...
Reports: New EU Visa Program ETIAS Won’t Start Until 2025
Reports: New EU Visa Program ETIAS Won’t Start Until 2025

The long-talked-about visa program for inbound travelers to Europe is reportedly delayed yet again.

Read...
Halloween Horror Nights Stages Frightful Scenes at Universal Orlando for 32nd Year
Halloween Horror Nights Stages Frightful Scenes at Universal Orlando for 32nd Year

Here's what travel advisors need to know about Halloween Horror Nights and how to book the horror-filled trip of their clients' dreams.

Read...
Iceland Prime Minister Promises to Increase Tourism Taxes
Iceland Prime Minister Promises to Increase Tourism Taxes

Tourists to Iceland will soon have to pay more to the country in taxes.

Read...
TMR OUTLOOKS & WHITE PAPERS
European Travel Trends 2023 Outlook
CP White Paper 1
Cruise Trend Outlook 2023
View All
industry insider
industry-insider.jpg
//services.travelsavers.com/AMGService.svc/REST/GetImage?ImageID=e6640f25-695d-ee11-92d0-005056a8720b
Why Travel Advisors Shouldn't Worry About Artificial Intelligence
Advertiser's Voice
//services.travelsavers.com/AMGService.svc/REST/GetImage?ImageID=b9003415-3a5d-ee11-92d0-005056a8720b
Travel Agent Education Powered by Avoya
About Travel Market Report Mission Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events Outlook/Whitepapers Previous Sponsored Articles Previous This Week Articles
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
71 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
News |Packaged Travel |Cruise |Hotels & Resorts |Destinations |Retail Strategies |Niche & Luxury |Air |Training & Resources |Who We Are
© 2005 - 2023 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy