End of a reign: Boeing rolls out the final 747

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Boeing

Ending a 54-year production run, Boeing rolled out the final Boeing 747 to be assembled on December 6, 2022. With 1,574 units produced, it was the most popular wide-body aircraft to be manufactured in the world, until the title was claimed by the Boeing 777

“For more than half a century, tens of thousands of dedicated Boeing employees have designed and built this magnificent airplane that has truly changed the world. We are proud that this plane will continue to fly across the globe for years to come,” said Kim Smith the Vice President and General Manager of the 747 and 767 programs at Boeing. 

Final Boeing 747 deliveries 

The last 747 rolled out of Everett, Washington, United States, a site that was specifically built to assemble and manufacture the twin-deck aircraft.  

The site delivered its first aircraft in 1970, to the now-bankrupt and iconic airline Pan American World Airways, or Pan Am for short. Since, several variations have left the factory, including several freighter types based on the passenger-built variants. 

The latest, the Boeing 747-8F, is based on the 747-8. The type’s first flight was on February 8, 2010, just before its delivery to Cargolux, a Luxembourg-based cargo airline in October 2011. In total, Boeing managed to sell 200 of the 747-8, including cargo-only versions, delivering 153 aircraft as of October 31, 2022, according to the manufacturer’s own Orders and Deliveries site. 

The second-to-last 747 was delivered to Atlas Air to be operated for Keuhne+Nagel, an international logistics firm, on November 22, 2022. The last delivery, also to Atlas Air, will be completed in early 2023, according to Boeing. 

Atlas Air signed an agreement with the plane maker to purchase the last four 747s to be produced in January 2021, finalizing the customer list for the 747-8F and in turn, the Queen of The Skies.

  

 

 

 

 

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