Everything To Know About The Queen Of The Skies, The Boeing 747 Passenger Jet

More than 70 years have passed since the first successful mass-produced passenger jet—the Boeing 707—revolutionized air travel. While the aviation industry has undergone dramatic transformations over the decades, one aspect has remained remarkably consistent: the fundamental design language of passenger aircraft. Even today, a Boeing 707 wouldn't seem entirely out of place alongside modern successors like the Boeing 737, Boeing 787, or even the Boeing 777.

However, one striking exception stands out: the Boeing 747.

One of the largest passenger aircraft ever built, the Boeing 747 is instantly recognizable thanks to its imposing size and distinctive forward hump. Its sheer presence commands attention, often leaving casual observers awestruck. While the Airbus A380 ultimately surpassed it in sheer size and capacity, the 747 is widely regarded as the more successful and versatile of the two. The largest iteration of the Boeing 747 measures over 250 feet in length, stands 63 feet tall, and could typically carry up to 467 passengers. There have been instances of the 747 carrying more than 500 passengers in the past.

More than 50 years after its maiden flight, the 747 continues to evoke a sense of wonder whenever it takes off or lands. Alongside the Ilyushin Il-96, Airbus A380, and Airbus A340, the Boeing 747 remains one of the last quad-engine passenger jets still in operation.

After the arrival of the Boeing 707 on the scene and the subsequent introduction of the Boeing 727 in 1964, there was a boom in the number of people taking to the skies. The rising demand for passengers led to Boeing embarking on a project that would stretch the fuselage of the 707 to accommodate up to 250 passengers.

This would have meant a significant jump in capacity over the original Boeing 707, which could carry just 140 people. It wasn't easy for Boeing's engineers to get this stretch job done given the sheer amount of modifications that would be needed. It was eventually decided that Boeing was better off designing a completely new aircraft that could cater to the increase in demand.

At around the same time, Juan Trippe, the CEO of Pan Am, one of Boeing's most important customers, and an influential airline company of the era, asked Boeing's then-CEO, Bill Allen, if Boeing could create a new, massive aircraft that could carry more than 400 passengers on a single trip. While senior officials at Boeing initially dismissed Trippe's suggestion as a joke, Pan Am's CEO quickly clarified that he was very serious about the plan.

Once Boeing's engineers and senior management heard what Juan Trippe's vision for this new massive aircraft was, the project was deemed nearly impossible. Trippe's vision foresaw a massive double-decker passenger aircraft that could not only carry 400 passengers in one go, but that could also be quickly transformed into a freighter if and when needed. If that wasn't all, Pan Am wanted the aircraft to be delivered in as little as three years.

After Juan Trippe's visit, Boeing's senior management and engineers huddled together and devised a plan to conjure what would eventually become the world's biggest passenger plane. It is pertinent to note that Boeing was also working on two other important projects around the same time. Boeing's primary focus at the time was the company's SST (Supersonic Travel) program which envisioned designing a plane that would travel faster than sound. The other important project then was a new narrowbody airliner called the Boeing 737. The man leading the 737 program was Joe Sutter. In 1965, Sutter was entrusted with building this giant commercial airliner which the company would eventually call the Boeing 747.

Even as the rest of Boeing focused on the supersonic aircraft — which would eventually become the failed Boeing 2707 — Joe Sutter was able to gather a team that began working on designing the Boeing 747. It did not take long for the Boeing 747 team to encounter the first of the mammoth challenges that lay ahead in designing the world's largest passenger aircraft.

While the initial plan was to build a double-decker aircraft with two decks all along the length of the fuselage, it would soon become obvious that such an aircraft would not meet FAA regulations at the time. Back then, the FAA had a rule which mandated that all passenger planes should be capable of being evacuated in less than 90 seconds. A fully double-decked Boeing 747 would never meet this regulation leading to Boeing engineers going back to the drawing board. 

It took Joe Sutter and his team over two years to create, design, and fine-tune the Boeing 747, even as Boeing scrambled to create a new factory at Everett that was large enough to manufacture the new world's largest passenger jet. The 747's first customer, PanAm, had ordered 25 aircraft from the company, and the confidence that the airline had entrusted in Boeing led to the company receiving orders from other airlines as well. 

In less than a year since work on the Boeing 747 began in 1965, Boeing managed to secure 88 orders from 11 different airlines across the globe. The 747 was already a hit even before the first prototype rolled out. By September 1968, just two months before the first planned flight of the 747, Boeing's order book had surged to 158 aircraft from 27 different airlines.

Boeing's then President Malcolm Stamper originally planned the first flight of the Boeing 747 on December 17, 1968, to mark the 65th anniversary of the Wright brother's first flight. However, a series of delays led to Boeing postponing the flight to February 9, 1969, piloted by the first 747 test pilots Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle.

The 747's first flight was largely uneventful, and despite a minor flap issue, the aircraft performed well and was resistant to "Dutch roll," a common problem in early swept-wing jets. Further tests revealed issues with the 747's four JT9D engines, which led to delayed deliveries. The 747's test phase was largely successful, except for a minor damage one test aircraft suffered during a landing attempt. In the same year — 1969 — Boeing deemed the 747 worthy enough to be showcased at the Paris Air Show, marking its first public appearance. By the end of 1969 the aircraft received its FAA certification in December 1969, clearing it for commercial service.

A month later, on January 22, 1970, the Boeing 747 officially entered commercial service with its launch customer, Pan Am. The airline's inaugural 747 flight carried 335 passengers and 20 crew members from New York's JFK Airport to London's Heathrow, marking the dawn of the jumbo jet era.

The 747 was an instant success, revolutionizing air travel for both airlines and passengers. With nearly twice the passenger capacity of its predecessors, the aircraft forced airports worldwide to undergo extensive modifications. Terminals were expanded to accommodate larger crowds, runways were reinforced to handle the 747's sheer size, and ground support equipment—including tugs, catering trucks, and refueling systems—was upgraded to meet the demands of the new giant of the skies.

The rapid adoption of the Boeing 747 led to an unprecedented surge in air travel. In just its first year of service, ticket prices dropped by nearly 50%, making flying more affordable than ever before. What was once a privilege of the wealthy quickly transformed into a mainstream mode of transportation, forever changing the landscape of global travel.

It's been over 50 years since the Boeing 747 first took to the skies, and since then, several variants of the airplane have served passengers and airline companies. While detailing each variant of the Boeing 747 would be too exhaustive (and confusing), the 747 families could be broadly classified into five main variants; the 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, 747-400, and the 747-8.

If not already evident, the Boeing 747-100 was the first generation 747 that Boeing delivered to its initial set of customers, which included Pan Am, Saudi Arabian Airlines, and Kalitta Air. While the Boeing 747-100 did not have a cargo variant, several 747-100's were converted to cargo-specific models, which bore the 747-100F moniker. There was also a quirky variant called the Boeing 747-100 SP, which had a much shorter fuselage (48 feet 4 inches shorter) than the 'normal' variants.

The Boeing 747-100 was quickly replaced by the 747-200 in 1971. This variant of the 747 featured a stronger airframe and more powerful engines and offered more range. Boeing would build 393 units of the 747-200 variant, with the last of these planes flying as recently as 2016. America's current presidential aircraft — the Air Force One — is also based on the 747-200 but is not designated as one and goes by the codename VC-25A. It is the among the handful of Boeing 747-200s  still flying. It is set to be replaced by a newer Boeing 747 dubbed the VC-25B in the coming years.

The Boeing 747-300 was introduced in 1983 and had the shortest life of all Boeing 747 iterations as its successor — the Boeing 747-400 was announced just two years later, in 1985. The 747-300 featured marginal upgrades over the 747-200, including a higher cruise speed, more fuel-efficient engines, and a longer upper deck. Boeing made a total of 80 747-300's, with the last unit delivered to a customer in 1990.

Three years after the Boeing 747-400 was announced in 1985, the first variants rolled out of the company's Everett factory. Boeing would go on to build a total of 694 747-400s between 1989 and 2007, making this variant of the aircraft the most successful iteration of the jumbo jet ever. The 747-400 had significant upgrades over its immediate predecessor, ranging from a longer wingspan, improved cockpit design, additional fuel tanks, and revamped interiors.

While most passenger variants of the Boeing 747-400 have retired, some airlines still operate them as of 2025. The freighter version of the 747-400 is a lot more common in comparison and is still widely used.

Following the end of the Boeing 747-400 program in 2007, it was due for an upgrade, which came in the form of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. This iteration of the jumbo jet was a major upgrade over the -400s. It became the largest variant of the 747 lineup thanks to an extended fuselage and a much bigger upper deck on the passenger variants. The 747-8's wings and interiors were also completely redesigned, along with newer, even more fuel-efficient engines. 

A total of155 Boeing 747-8 units were built between 2011 and 2023 — the majority of those being freighters — following which Boeing permanently discontinued the 747 program.

When introduced in the late 60s, Boeing was treading untested waters with the 747. The plane ended up becoming a massive hit among airline companies and passengers alike. The sheer size of the aircraft and its ability to transport a large number of passengers was also one of the reasons for the adoption of the now famous hub and spoke model in aviation. This model entailed travelers reaching a large central airport (the hub) in large planes before switching to a smaller aircraft that would transport them to smaller airports and destinations (the spoke).

Over time, however, with the arrival of more efficient, comfortable, airplanes that could travel vast distances without the need for refueling, the hub and spoke model gradually began to lose its sheen. The advent of low-cost carriers meant that point-to-point, direct flights became a lot more common and ended up saving lots of time for the passengers. In simpler words, newer aircraft that are smaller and a lot more fuel efficient than the giant Boeing 747 started to make sense for most airline companies.

As a result, orders for the Boeing 747-8 dried up as airlines began to gradually move away from the hub and spoke model. In fact, Boeing was only able to attract 48 orders for the passenger variant of the 747-8. The freight variant of the aircraft had it a lot better, ending up with 108 orders, of which one was never built, eventually ending up with a total of 107 aircraft. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019-20 only hastened the demise of the Boeing 747 program.

During the Boeing 747-400's five-decade-long production run, the company made a total of 1,574 planes. While the vast majority of these were retired due to age, more than 20 of those were destroyed in accidents. There were a total of 22 crashes involving the 747 which led to massive loss of life. Besides these crashes, four 747s were lost to explosions in mid-air. One Boeing 747 was shot down.

The Tenerife tragedy — by far the worst aviation disaster involving the Boeing 747 — happened on 27 March 1977 at the Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Spain when two passenger Boeing 747s collided and resulted in the deaths of 584 people.

The second-worst tragedy involving a Boeing 747 is the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka on August 12, 1985. 524 people on board the aircraft lost their lives when the plane suffered a structural failure shortly after launch. The aircraft remained in the air for a little over an hour and eventually crashed into a mountain. Four people miraculously survived the crash.

In 1996, a Saudia Boeing 747 on its way from Delhi to Dhahran (Saudi Arabia) collided with a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76, over the skies of India, resulting in the deaths of 349 people. It remains the worst mid-air collision in history and is now known as the Charkhi Dadri crash.

Another tragic incident involving a Boeing 747 aircraft was the 1985 crash of Air India Flight 182. Operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Mumbai route, the plane was destroyed mid-air by terrorists who planted an explosive device inside the cargo hold of the plane. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of all 329 people on board.

As of early 2025, nearly 400 Boeing 747s remain in service with airlines worldwide. However, many others have been in long-term storage since the COVID-19 pandemic. "Stored" aircraft are those in airworthy condition but left unused for extended periods. While not officially retired, these planes could return to active service if demand arises.

Because of this fluctuating status, determining the exact number of operational Boeing 747s is challenging. According to data from Planespotters, most active 747s today are freighter variants, primarily the Boeing 747-400F and the newer 747-8F. Major operators of these cargo jets include UPS, Cargolux, and Atlas Air.

Although Boeing delivered its final 747 in 2023, these iconic aircraft are expected to remain in the skies for decades. However, for passengers hoping to experience a flight on a 747, options are becoming increasingly limited. Only a handful of airlines still operate passenger-configured Boeing 747s, including Lufthansa, Korean Air, Air China, and Rossiya Airlines.

Lufthansa maintains the world's largest fleet of passenger 747s, operating 26 of them as of early 2025. This includes eight Boeing 747-400s and 18 Boeing 747-8s, some of which regularly serve major U.S. airports like New York (JFK) and Chicago O'Hare.

Korean Air follows with 17 active Boeing 747s of which thirteen are 747-8s and four happen to be 747-400s. Air China operates a smaller fleet of seven (five 747-8s and two 747-400s), while Rossiya Airlines has just one remaining Boeing 747-400 in service.

Despite their dwindling numbers in passenger service, the Boeing 747 continues to play a crucial role in global air travel, particularly in the cargo sector, ensuring that the legacy of the "Queen of the Skies" lives on.