An emotional farewell. Boeing delivered on Tuesday, January 31, the final copy of its mythical 747, the jumbo jet that democratized air transport, transported US presidents and changed the rules of the game in world tourism.
At the massive warehouse built in Everett, in the northwestern United States, to assemble the mammoth plane, thousands of former and current employees, customers and suppliers of the plane maker attended the delivery of the latest 747 product, a blue freighter. and orange colors of Atlas Air.
Actor John Travolta, who is licensed to fly the 747, even made an appearance just before the unveiling of the plane, which took off on Wednesday.
Atlas Air flew it along a route drawing the numbers 747 surmounted by a crown in honor of the aircraft.
“This monumental day honors several generations of Boeing employees whose work brought to life the aircraft that ‘shrinked the world’ and, as history’s first jumbo jet, revolutionized the airline, travel and air cargo industry.” said Stan Deal, president and CEO of the Boeing Commercial Aviation (BCA) division.
Entering service in 1970 under the impetus of the mythical (and now defunct) American company PanAm, the plane and its variants were thus manufactured in 1,574 units for more than 50 years.
Air France will order a total of 53 examples. The 747 made history because it was the world’s first twin-aisle aircraft and was a milestone in passenger and cargo transportation.
Thanks to its size, range and efficiency, the 747 “allowed the middle class to venture outside of Europe or the United States with ticket prices that became more affordable, even during the oil crisis of the 1970s,” he tells the AFP Michel Merluzeau, aeronautic. AIR firm expert.
A recognizable profile among a thousand
Nicknamed “the Queen of the Skies”, this 330-ton aircraft reigned supreme until the 1990s. Capable of carrying up to 580 passengers and 3,400 pieces of luggage, it distinguished itself above all in freight transport with its 100-ton capacity. Hence his other nickname “workhorse”.
It is also the plane that, for example, carried the American space shuttle on its back to propel it into space.
To facilitate the loading of bulky goods, it opens at the front. Therefore, the cabin was installed higher up, with some seats reserved behind it for the privileged, creating this very recognizable bump.
Still 400 aircraft in circulation, the majority in cargo version
The Boeing 747 also made the golden hours of disaster movies (747 endangered, The castaways of the 747) and of course it became the favorite plane of the American presidents with the Air Force One model. Except that with its 4 engines and its phenomenal consumption, it ended up cooling the airlines.
Air France abandoned him like this in 2016, the American companies in 2017. The arrival of the Boeing 777 and the Airbus A350 marked the end of his reign. Then came smaller single-aisle planes, like the A320 and 330. Boeing announced in the summer of 2020 that it would stop production in 2022.
But how the A380, the end of production does not mean that we will no longer see the 747 in the sky. 400 aircraft, most of them cargo, are still active around the world.
Source: BFM TV
