Queen Of The Skies

(Queen Of The Skies)

Sometime in the Mid-60's, Boeing CEO Bill Allen and Pan American CEO Juan Trippe want in a fishing excursion in Washington State. The two companies had had a profitable relationship, with Boeing building the venerable 707. However, passenger traffic was expected to increase at such a rate that even the 707 was not large enough to handle the coming surge. Both men knew that a larger airplane as needed. Bill Allen and Juan Trippe fishing planned on what would become the Boeing 747. Allen's Boeing would be the manufacturer and Trippe's Pan American would be the plane's first customer. 

The 747, nicknamed the "Jumbo," was truly a revolution in air travel. Boeing expanded its plant in Everett, Washington, building a hanger that proved to be one of the largest buildings in the world. When the 747 was first revealed, in September, 1968, with its length and the distinctive "hump" in the fuselage and four Pratt & Whitney hi-bypass engines, some 1,754 Boeing 747s of all types, were built inside that cavernous hanger, until last February.

The last production 747, a Dash-8 Intercontinental, a cargo version, was placed together and over the span of about a year and delivered to Atlas Air. The end of an era. But the Jumbo's demise was never a foregone conclusion. However, four engine airplanes, while offering some comfort on long transoceanic trips, new designs like the 757, 767, 777, and the 787, all had two engines. These newer aircraft could still match the 747 range and not as expensive.

Another factor was the covid pandemic. When global air travel was halted and only recently recovering, the expense of a four-engine airplane when the same destinations can be reached more cheaply. Also, major airlines for which the 747's had been the mainstay of their fleets and the most prolific airplane at most major international airports. From New York to Tokyo and everywhere in between, the Boeing 747 proved the most recognizable airplane since perhaps the Spruce Goose.

Sadly, all things must end. There would at some point be a last 747 to come out of Everett. A point when orders for the plane would cease and the line closed. No one at Boeing quite anticipated that the end would be upon them when it did. So, in a ceremony with those who had worked on the 747, some for years, as the last produced Boeing 747 was rolled out of its hanger, for the last time to the cheers of those who assembled her, this last "Queen of the Skies" took her last flight.