The Boeing 747 will go down as one of the most iconic aircraft in history. Many travelers look back fondly on the experience of flying onboard 'The Queen of the Skies', while the aircraft was also a trusty and efficient machine for airlines. The first double-decker jet aircraft entered commercial service in early 1970 and continues to operate passenger flights to this day, albeit on a much smaller scale than in its heyday.
Boeing built the first 747 in 1968 and its production run would last until 2023, when the final airframe - a 747-8F freighter variant - rolled off the production line before its delivery to Atlas Air. Over the course of its 56-year production, Boeing would build 1,574 Boeing 747 airframes consisting of multiple variants, including the original 747-100, the best-selling 747-400, and the latest 747-8.
Photo: Piergiuliano Chesi | Wikimedia Commons
Given that the 747 family lasted over half a century, what exactly led Boeing to bring the program to a conclusion? After all, it could have worked on developing a newer version of the plane, as it has done with the 737 and 777, even if the 747-8 didn't perform too well. But ultimately the planemaker decided to end the program entirely.
Why did Boeing end the 747 program?
Ever since it first took to the skies (with passengers) in January 1970 with launch customer Pan Am Airways, the 747 has cemented itself as one of the most beloved commercial aircraft in history. When first released, the aircraft's staggering passenger capacity was a huge increase on the Boeing 707, carry approximately three times as many people as the 707.
As such, the aircraft attracted a large number of orders before it was even released, with over 20 carriers committing to the quad-jet. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for the 747 program in its early days. Despite the initial flurry of orders before it entered service, the aircraft's debut coincided with a recession that led to a dearth of orders.
Photo: Torsten Maiwald | Wikimedia Commons
The initial 747-100 variant attracted over 200 orders, while the improved 747-200 did almost double those numbers at 393 total sales. However, the program really came into its own with the 747-400, which attracted almost 700 total sales (including freighters) - delivering increased range and boasting wingtip extensions to reduce fuel burn, the aircraft also upgraded to a glass cockpit and would enter service in early 1989 with Northwest Airlines.
As a result, Boeing had high hopes for the 747-8, which it announced in 2005 and first delivered in 2011 (the passenger 747-8I arrived at launch customer Lufthansa a year later). But the 747-8 ultimately proved disappointing for Boeing, attracting just 155 sales, including only 48 for the passenger variant.
As such, the planemaker would eventually close the 747 program for good, first announcing its decision in the summer of 2020. There's no doubt that poor sales for the 747-8 contributed to this decision, but what else led to Boeing's decision?
Twinjet preference
The Boeing 747 was powered by four engines, a necessity given the sheer size of the airframe. Up until the latest 747-8 variant, the Boeing 747 came with three engine options:
Variant
747-100
747-200
747-400
747-8
Engine Options
Pratt & Whitney JT9D, General Electric CF6, Rolls-Royce RB211
Pratt & Whitney JT9D, General Electric CF6, Rolls-Royce RB211
Pratt & Whitney PW4000, General Electric CF6, Rolls-Royce RB211
General Electric GEnx
While these four engines provided the 747 with sufficient power to perform, it was also something of a burden for operators due to higher fuel costs, particularly if they struggled to fill up enough seats. This meant load factors had to be relatively high for the jet to break-even, particularly during periods of elevated fuel prices due to the aircraft's fuel needs.
The 777 and A330
When the 747 first entered the market, long-range twinjet aircraft were not a thing, and neither was the concept of ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards), which would come into existence in the mid-1980s. However, the Boeing 777-200 - which entered service in 1995 - started to change things for the 747 and quadjets in general.
Photo: N509FZ | Flickr
With a range of 5,240 NM (9,700 km) and a typical seating capacity of over 300 passengers across three cabin classes, operators now had an alternative long-range, high-capacity aircraft capable of handling key international routes. Additionally, Airbus introduced its A330 widebody during the same period, another twinjet aircraft with an even longer range than the 777-200 at 6,340 NM (11,750 km).
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Boeing would eventually improve on the original 777-200 with the -200ER, boosting the jet's range to an impressive 7,725 NM (14,305 km), and also released a stretched version - the 777-300 and -300ER - that could fit around 20% more passengers. With all of this available to operators with the fuel burn of only two engines, these newer widebodies soon became more desirable for their economics.
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
While the 747 held the crown as the most-sold widebody in history, it was overtaken by the 777 in 2018. With the Boeing 777 program still going strong with the upcoming 777X, you can expect this lead to be widened as more airlines commit to the 777X.
The 787 Dreamliner and A350
With the strong sales of both the 777 and A330, Boeing and Airbus would soon start developing more twinjet, long-haul aircraft with the launch of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 programs in the mid-2000s. Both of these programs were launched before Boeing announced it was developing the 747-8.
Aircraft Model
Typical Seating Capacity
Range
Boeing 787-9
296 passengers
7,565 NM (14,010 km)
Airbus A350-900
300-350 passengers
8,100 NM (15,000 km)
Boeing 747-8I
467 passengers
7,790 NM (14,430 km)
While the 747 and A380 have advantages on high-capacity routes, the reality is that the majority of airlines ultimately stand to benefit from the flexibility that planes like the 787 and A350 can offer. This also came at a time when point-to-point networks began to gain ascendency over the typical hub-and-spoke business model.
The 747-8 came at the wrong time
Boeing announced the 747-8 program in 2005 - initially dubbed the 747 Advanced - at a time when quadjet operations were still popular. Airbus had completed the first flight of its giant quadjet - the Airbus A380 - earlier that year, and that aircraft had secured a high number of orders even before its release.
Photo: Masakatsu Ukon | Wikimedia Commons
The 747-8 incorporated a stretch of 5.6 meters, making it the longest commercial aircraft in the world, but it will soon be overtaken by the 777-9. This allows the 747-8I to carry over 50 more passengers than its predecessor, the 747-400, based on typical seating configuration. It also came with vastly improved GEnx engines and redesigned wings that boosted the plane's fuel efficiency by over 15%.
Photo: GE Aerospace
Despite all these improvements, demand for the new 747 (at least the passenger version) was minimal. Things started well after Lufthansa became the launch customer in 2006, but unfortunately, the orders never took off - the only other sizable orders came from Air China and Korean Air, with the odd government/VIP order making up the numbers.
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Boeing officially ended production of the 747-8I in 2017, but would go on to continue producing the 747-8F, which just about sold according to expectations at over 100 units. There are still plenty of 747-8s in service today, although most of them are the freighter version - the largest operators of the type are below:
UPS - 30 747-8Fs Lufthansa - 19 747-8Is Cargolux - 14 747-8Fs Cathay Pacific - 14 747-8Fs Atlas Air - 12 747-8Fs AirBridgeCargo - 10 747-8Fs The future of the 747
The number of passenger 747s in service today is dwindling by the year. The largest operator worldwide remains Lufthansa, which flies both the 747-400 and 747-8I, followed by Air China (which also flies both types), and then Korean Air.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
But how long will this remain the case? Well, while its 747-8Is will likely keep flying for many years to come, Lufthansa has signaled its intent to retire its older 747-400s by 2028. Korean Air has previously stated it will retire all of its 747-8Is by the early 2030s but will be retiring five airframes as early as September of this year. As for Air China, the carrier's two remaining 747-400s are to be retired soon, but it has given no indication of how long it will keep flying the 747-8I.