The industrial adventure of the Boeing 747 comes to an end.
The very last copy of the first jumbo jet in history has just left the site in Everett, in the United States.
The plane, a 747-8 Intercontinental freighter, will be delivered to the American company Atlas Air, at the beginning of 2023. For lack of new orders, Boeing had decided, in 2020, to stop the program launched in 1967. It mobilized 50,000 employees of Boeing, nicknamed “the Incredibles
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The 747-8, the latest derivative of the aircraft, had recorded only 107 orders in total, including 48 in its passenger version.
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The page of giant planes, capable of transporting more than 500 passengers from one end of the planet to the other, is now turned.
Airbus had indeed taken the decision, in 2019, to stop production of the A380, the last copy of which was delivered to Emirates in December 2021. After the financial crisis of 2008, that of the Covid-19 sounded the end of these four-engine aircraft, which are fuel-hungry and difficult to fill, while companies have turned to more modern aircraft that consume less kerosene, such as the 787 Dreamliner and the A350.
Nicknamed "the king of the sky" ("Queen of the Skies"), the 747 has revolutionized air transport by democratizing access to the plane for the greatest number.
Since 1967, the 747 has been produced in 1574 copies in different versions for more than 100 customers.
The fleet in service has already logged more than 118 million flight hours.
Stopping production does not mean the end of operations.
The 747 will fly for at least another 20 years and Boeing will continue to support the fleet.