What was unique about the 747?

The design makes the engine quieter, more powerful, and with better fuel efficiency. And instead of the scream of earlier generation jets, the 747 “buzzed” when it took off. The 747 might have been the first, but now every passenger jet is powered by an incredibly reliable and sophisticated high-bypass turbofan engine.



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The 747 fleet has logged more than 42 billion nautical miles (77.8 billion kilometers), equivalent to 101,500 trips from the Earth to the moon and back. The 747 fleet has flown more than 5.6 billion people — the equivalent of 80 percent of the world's population*.

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With its impressive size and graceful appearance, the 747, known as the “Queen of the Skies,” has been one of the most recognizable and versatile aircraft since its first flight in 1969.

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Airplane.

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Built in 1967 to produce the mammoth jet, it remains the world's largest manufacturing plant according to Boeing. But after five decades, customer demand for the 747 eroded as Boeing and Airbus (AIR.PA) developed more fuel efficient two-engine widebody planes.

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Because of aerodynamics, the cockpit level had to rise and slope back down to the main fuselage, giving us the iconic hump.

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The Boeing 747 is becoming increasingly rare at airports around the world – at least in the passenger version. More and more airlines are retiring the queen of the skies. The coronavirus pandemic in particular has radically accelerated this process in some cases.

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Despite quad jets beginning to fall out of favor in the 1980s, the 747-400, which launched in 1988, remains the most popular variant to date, with 694 built until its completion in 2009. Excluding General Electric's testbed jet, 24 747-400 passenger jets remain active, though only ten are in regular passenger service.

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Many long-haul planes have pilot bunks. On some airplanes you have to pass through the passenger cabin to reach the bunks or lavatories; on others, like the 747, you need never leave the cockpit area and can move freely between the bunk and the bathroom in your pajamas.

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Running since 1929, Hawaiian is among the oldest airlines in the world but, remarkably, it has never suffered a single fatal crash or hull loss.

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Most of them end up in what's called boneyards. It's like a giant car park in the middle of woop woop where they are all lined up and stored, waiting either to be sold or broken up for parts. Boneyards such as Victorville in California has five hundred spots for old planes.

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'Queen of the skies': How the Boeing 747 shaped an era of air travel | Boeing | The Guardian.

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