While delivery of the last-ever Boeing 747 to Atlas Air will mark a momentous occasion for the carrier and the manufacture, new images shared on social media reveal that the aircraft has not been painted in a special livery.
The Boeing 747-8F, registered as N863GT, will be the last Boeing 747 to be produced after the demand for large four-engine aircraft has disappeared during the past few years. The wide-body jet was spotted leaving a painting hangar at Portland International Airport (PDX). The Boeing 747 was ferried to PDX on December 21, 2022, according to flightradar24.com data.
The images, which show the aircraft at the airport, reveal that the last-ever Boeing 747 will bear the typical Atlas Air paintjob barring an Apex Logistics sticker on the left side of the fuselage.
Apex Logistics is a subsidiary of Keuhne+Nagel, the latter having been acquired by the former in May 2021.
Boeing rolled out the aircraft on December 6, 2022, which marked the beginning of the end of a production run that lasted for 54 years. The 747, nicknamed the Queen of the Skies and renowned for its iconic hump, has been the second-most popular wide-body jet behind the Boeing 777.
The US manufacturer built 1,574 units over the total production run of the type, with the first Queen of the Skies flying in February 1969. The cargo-only Boeing 747 is scheduled to be handed over to Atlas Air, a United States-based cargo, charter, and passenger operator, sometime in Q1 2023. The aircraft will be operated for Keuhne+Nagel under the Apex Logistics brand.
AeroTime approached Boeing and Atlas Air for comment.
