Credit: Airliner Watch
End of an era: Boeing just finished building the final 747
From The Points Guy:
The Wright brothers’ first flight. The first transatlantic trip. The invention of the jet engine. The introduction of the Boeing 747.
Few moments in commercial aviation history have had as big an impact as Boeing’s jumbo jet: It first flew in 1969 and entered service a year later with the now-inoperative U.S. carrier Pan Am. The first wide-body passenger plane and a defining icon of the golden age of travel, the double-decker unlocked routes, continents and new economics for the airline industry; it also allowed carriers to introduce unparalleled levels of luxury.
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After more than 50 years, the “queen of the skies” has reached the end of its reign. Boeing this week rolled the final double-decker out of its assembly hanger in Everett, Washington, closing a production line that has been at work since 1967.
The plane, a 747-8 Freighter with the tail number N863GT, is Boeing’s 1,574th 747, and it will be delivered to cargo airline Atlas Air in early 2023. Atlas Air received the second-to-last 747 in October, too — tail number N861GT. TPG had a chance to see that airframe on the assembly line in June during a tour of Boeing facilities.
+ KING-5 TV News, Seattle: What is the future of Boeing’s Everett Factory? The last Boeing 747 is at Paine Field for additional testing after being rolled out of the Everett Factory. As production ends, what happens to the factory?
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