As I wrote on Monday, the plane holds a fascination with me, even if it is now somewhat irrelevant as a passenger aircraft. Nothing looks quite like the Queen of the Skies and, I suspect, nothing will again, especially with talk of the only other 'Jumbo Jet', the Airbus A380, already running out of commercial runway. When it first flew in 1969, the 747 was a technological marvel, in terms of speed, passenger capacity and comfort. Its predecessor, the 707 might have accelerated the jet age, but the 747 democratised air travel, enabling distances to be covered further, more quickly and by more people. Today the mode is for efficient twin-engines, not four, and for carbon-fibre constructions to improve efficiency further. That the 747 has outlasted newer models, like Boeing's 757 and 767 is a testimony to the fact that only the jumbo can do what the jumbo does. And that, strangely, is keeping it flying well beyond its half century.
As a passenger aircraft, the 747 is heading towards retirement. Just 200 remain in passenger use, including with British Airways, the single biggest operator with 34 in the air. But the iconic shape is set to continue flying for the foreseeable future with an unexpected uptick in its use as a freighter. Not so long ago there were fears that the 747 would come to an end altogether, following a lacklustre order book for its latest -8 model, which was only adopted for passenger use by a handful of operators including Lufthansa. But with logistics companies like UPS finding a renewed use for the 747 as a cargo carrier, shipping ever-more goods around the world as the online shopping boom continues (air cargo rose by 3.5% last year, according to the International Air Transport Association), the 747 is still proving that it can do a unique job in the aviation industry. Last year UPS ordered a further 14 of the freighter variant of the 747-8, to add to the nine it already has, a shot in the arm for a plane Boeing had said only two years previously could be brought to an end amid falling orders and pricing competition from smaller rivals from Airbus.
The end will, probably, have to come eventually. British Airways' drawdown of its 747-400s, introduced at the end of the 1990s, will be completed by November 2022. Dutch carrier KLM will phase out its remaining 747s by 2021, leaving Lufthansa, Korean Air and Air China as the last of the national flag carriers with the type in use.
Like many, my first long-haul experience was on a 747, and it still defines the romance of air travel, even if better and more comfortable planes are in more comumon use. 50 years on from that maiden flight on 9 February 1969, the giant aircraft remains a majestic sight and a majestic experience, especially if you get the chance to climb that spiral staircase up into its 'hump' (which was, once, the height of airline luxury as the upper deck was used as a flying lounge for first class passengers. Latterly, airlines - striving to maximise space - have used it for premium economy seats).
Today, there are still over 500 747s in use for passenger and cargo duties, and one of the most famous, those used by the US president as 'Air Force One', will be flying for years to come after President Trump agreed to ordering two new ones (after spitting out his dummy over Boeing's original price of $4 billion per plane, a total deal of $3.9 billion was agreed, with the new planes being delivered by December 2024). Commercial aviation will have long moved on by then, but the fact that two new 747s will be flying, 55 years after the first took to the air, will be a remarkable endorsement of a remarkable machine.
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