Boeing will no longer produce any more 747 jumbo jets after all pending orders are expected to be fulfilled later this year. The Queen of the skies has had a long and glorious production cycle spanning more than half a century, but that is set to end as the planemaker delivers the last unit in just a few months.
The end of an era
Boeing has produced several versions of the jumbo over the course of its life cycle. The latest and greatest of those is the 747-8 variant, first launched in 2005 before entering commercial service approximately seven years later. The 747-8 came in two forms, a freighter and a people carrier dubbed “Intercontinental” and more popularly known as the 747-8I.
Boeing initially forecasted demand of around 300 airframes for this type, but the plane has struggled to get orders. As per company data, 48 passenger aircraft have been delivered, while 102 examples of the 747-8F have been delivered to customers around the world. Even though the 8I passenger variant has been out of production for some time now, demand for the freighter kept the production line running.
A Boeing spokesperson told Simple Flying that only five 747s remain to be delivered, and all of those are freighters. Furthermore, the last delivery is scheduled for October this year to Atlas Air. In fact, four of the remaining five aircraft will join Atlas Air’s fleet, while one will go to fellow cargo giant UPS. View page
