SEATTLE. A page in aviation history closed on Tuesday with the end of production of the legendary Boeing 747 Jumbo jet and staff celebrating the delivery of the last such jet, serial number 1574.

The Jumbo production line has been in continuous operation for 54 years, and the last aircraft featured a distinctive nose decal in the form of aeronautical engineer Joe Sutter, who died in 2016. The Jumbo became a milestone in aviation with its ability to carry 550 passengers (660 with cabin redesign in the 1990s), up from 189 for Boeing’s immediate long-haul predecessor, the 707. The Jumbo earned its nickname from its wide, elephantine fuselage.

1965 agreement

In 1965, two of the most powerful people in the aviation industry, Bill Allen of Boeing and Pan Am founder Juan Tripp, reached a gentlemen’s agreement on a fishing trip to build the world’s largest passenger aircraft. “Trip said, ‘If you build it, I’ll buy it.’ Allen replied, “I’ll do it if you buy it.” They didn’t sign a contract, but that’s how the program began,” Sutter later wrote. Juan Tripp desperately wanted a big plane. He originally hoped that his engineers would design a double-deck aircraft, essentially gluing the fuselages of two 707s on top of each other. But this plan was thwarted.

The Boeing 747 was a compromise solution until the expected introduction of supersonic aircraft such as the Concorde and the Boeing SST, which were discontinued in 1971. The Jumbo was originally intended to be used exclusively as a commercial transport aircraft.

However, the large cabin diameter (six meters) turned out to be ideal for passengers.

In January 1971, the Boeing 747 made its first flight from New York to London, and by 1975 the Jumbo fleet had already carried over 100 million passengers. In October 1993, Boeing delivered its 1,000th Jumbo and Singapore Airlines took delivery of the aircraft.

Despite satisfying orders, Boeing realized in the early 2000s that the era of large four-engine aircraft was over. The latest Jumbo, the 747-8, failed to find buyers, while Airbus also ended production of the giant A380 just sixteen years after it first flew.

“Even on the 100th anniversary of the 747 in 2069, there will be Jumbos in the air. The Ether Queen will fly for many more years,” says Boeing historian Michael Lombardi.