Delta was the last U.S. airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017, although some other international carriers continue to fly it, including the German airline Lufthansa.
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Orders for the aircraft peaked at 122 in 1990, and have been in decline ever since. The last passenger 747 was delivered to Korean Air in 2017. In 2020, Qantas and Virgin flew their last passenger flights using the plane, and British Airways announced it would be phasing the model out—four years earlier than expected.
Crashes that destroy the airframe are the most obvious answer, but minor, low-speed incidents on the ground can also bring a plane's career to an end. This was the case for a SaudiaBoeing 747-300, which taxied into a ditch in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.
There were 440 Boeing 747 aircraft in active airline service as of August 2023, comprising 0 747-100s, 2 747SPs, 19 747-200s, 4 747-300s, 261 747-400s, and 154 747-8s. These aircraft are listed by airline operators and variant in the following table.
In December 2017, Delta became the last U.S. airline to retire the Boeing 747, ending 47 years of service by Northwest Airlines and Delta combined. Last U.S. departure, DL159A, left Detroit on December 18, arriving at Seoul-Incheon on December 19. It was a recovery flight for the original Dec.
According to data from ch-aviation.com, the oldest active Boeing 747 family aircraft left in the world today is a 747-100SF that flies for the Iranian Air Force. Bearing registration 5-8103, this veteran quadjet is 52.86 years old and flew for TWA from 1970 to 1975 before being converted for usage as a freighter.
The A380 production ended with the departure of former Airbus CEO Tom Enders due to a lack of demand; the company had 17 orders in the backlog. After Emirates cut its A380 order by 39 aircraft, leaving just 14 on the backlog, the final decision was reached to terminate production on the A380.
The planes are due for delivery in 2024 as part of a $3.9 billion contract. Boeing's 777X, its latest passenger plane model and projected replacement for the 747, is set for delivery in 2025.
The Boeing 777X was unveiled on March 13 in a private, employees-only event. The 777X is destined to serve as Boeing's new flagship and replace the iconic 747 jumbo jet. The 777X comes in two variants: the $410.2 million 777-8, and the $442.2 million 777-9.
No more 747s are being made, but Boeing notes that they're still taking flight. The 1970s version even inspired one man to build a ground-based replica. We are proud that this plane will continue to fly across the globe for years to come, Boeing's Smith said. Copyright 2023 NPR.
Airbus A380s In The United States: There Are Now 2 Giants On The N Register. Both A380s will unlikely ever fly with their N registration. No American airlines ever went through with an order for the Airbus A380.
A Boeing 747 can endure about 35,000 pressurization cycles and flights—roughly 135,000 to 165,000 flight hours—before metal fatigue sets in. 747s are retired after approximately 27 years of service.
Bleriot MonoplaneThe oldest plane still flying in the world is the Bleriot XI. And it's not even close! Where generations of aircraft have been built and retired in its wake, the Bleriot XI, one of the first planes ever, built in 1909, still flies in Hudson Valley, New York.
According to Boeing's data, the 777-9 has a total length of 251 feet 9 inches (76.72 meters).The 747-8 is just a bit smaller at 250 feet 2 inches (76.3 meters).
Will the Boeing 747 have a future? The final one, delivered to cargo operator Atlas Air in early 2023, marked the end of the 747's production history, though the variant still has a future in the spotlight: two 747-8s are currently being transformed into the next Air Force One planes.