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The “Queen of the Skies”, the Boeing 747, on its maiden flight on February 9, 1969 from the production facility in Everett, USA. (archive image)
The end of the «queen of the skies». The aircraft manufacturer Boeing is ending its jumbo jet production. The company celebrated farewell on Tuesday (local time) at the Boeing plant in Everett near Seattle. Board member Stan Deal (57) spoke of an “aircraft that changed the world forever”.
Boeing had already announced the end of production in 2020 due to a lack of demand. Overall, Boeing made 1574 copies of the giant aircraft. The airlines now prefer smaller and more economical machines with two instead of four engines.
Maiden flight 1969
What was once the largest passenger jet in the world completed its maiden flight in 1969, and around a year later the first example went into scheduled service with the then US airline Panam.
With the latest variant 747-8, which has a longer upper deck, new wings and more economical engines and offers space for more than 600 passengers, Boeing was only able to score points with a few airlines.
Airplanes are getting smaller
Most long-haul airlines now rely on models that are not quite as large as the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” and 777 types and the Airbus A350. Most recently, the 747 was practically only produced as a freighter version. (SDA)