Boeing 747 (Jumbo Jet)

Nicknamed the “Jumbo Jet”, the Boeing 747 transformed global air travel and rapidly achieved iconic status.

As the first wide-body airliner, it introduced twin-aisle cabins, dramatically increasing passenger capacity (holding the passenger record for 37 years until the Airbus A380) and making long-haul international travel affordable for everyday travellers.

Boeing also placed the flight deck (cockpit) on an elevated upper deck so the plane’s nose could hinge open for front-loading cargo. The company initially expected supersonic jets would quickly replace passenger airliners, so it designed the 747 to transition into a dedicated freighter.

Behind the flight deck was a luxurious first-class lounge linked to the main cabin by a spiral staircase. Some airlines used this space as a bar (pictured below); others used it for office facilities.

The 747 made its maiden flight on 9 February 1969 and its commercial debut on 22 January 1970, flying with Pan Am from New York to London.

The giant aircraft was 231 ft 10 in wide with a wing-span of 195 ft 8 in. The top of the tail was 43 ft 4 in above the ground.

Weighing 317 tons, the plane initially seated 360 passengers.

Later versions carried up to 490 people at a time, though stripped of premium seating for high-density setups, some models could carry up to 660 passengers.

A historic evacuation flight once famously packed more than 1,000 people onto a single aircraft.

The plane was powered by four mighty turbofan-jet engines, each with 43,500 lb of thrust, almost twice that of a Boeing 707 engine. The engines gave the airliner a cruising speed of 608 mph and a range of 4,500 miles.

Production of the Boeing 747 – which also earned the nickname “Queen of the Skies” – ended on 6 December 2022, with the final delivery in 2023, after a successful 54-year run. In that time, 1,574 aircraft were built across multiple variants, from the classic 747-100/200/300/400 to the modern 747-8.

Though commercial airlines have mostly retired passenger-configured 747s in favour of twin-engine jets like the Boeing 777 and 787, hundreds of 747s remain active, primarily as heavy cargo freighters.

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