For over 50 years, the aircraft shuttled travelers to nearly every continent across the globe, connecting people to more places than ever before.
Boeing
Source: Boeing
The jet’s longtime success can be seen in the numbers, with the huge plane shuttling over 5.9 billion people across 75.5 billion miles as of 2020, which is enough to fly to the Moon and back to Earth 137,000 times.
Lukas Wunderlich/Shutterstock
Source: Boeing
However, innovations in dual-engine planes over the years made the 747’s four fuel-hungry engines and poor economics unattractive for operators.
Alexander Sidorov/EyeEm via Getty Images
Source: Insider
1: The legendary aircraft was built on request by Pan American World Airways founder and CEO Juan Trippe.
Bettmann/Contributor
Source: Northwestern University
But, as demand skyrocketed, the industry needed bigger and better planes that could fly farther than any other commercial aircraft could.
aviation-images.com/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Insider
So, Trippe went to Boeing in 1965 and asked for a plane more than twice the size of the 707…
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Source: Insider
…and it didn’t take much for the manufacturing giant to jump on the opportunity, especially after recently losing out on a contract to build the massive C-5A military transport plane.
US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Charlie Miller
Source: Boeing
2: The 747 was built by a team of some 50,000 Boeing employees, known as the “Incredibles.”
-/Getty Images
Source: Boeing
The workers were made up of engineers, mechanics, secretaries, and construction workers, among others, and built the plane in about 16 months in the late 1960s.
Bettmann/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
“We assembled the first 747 in snowstorms as they were constructing the building around us,” wrote Boeing Incredible Dwight Bates in a 2016 post published on the planemaker’s website.
Taylor Rains/Insider
Source: Boeing
He explained the conditions of being an Incredible meant sleeping at their desks and working crazy overtime hours. Not to mention, they were under immense pressure after being told they’ll lose the company if they didn’t get the 747 FAA-certified.
Bernard Crochet/Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
Fortunately, their efforts didn’t go to waste. Led by veteran Boeing engineer Joe Sutter, who is known as the “father of the 747,” the iconic plane took its first flight in 1969 and was in commercial service with Pan Am in 1970.
AFP/Stringer via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
3: The 747 was the world’s first widebody passenger aircraft and the first with a partial second level.
aviation-images.com/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Museum of Flight
Boeing created five different 747 variants: the 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, 747-400, and the 747-8, which were bought by dozens of airlines, like Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Delta Air Lines.
Museum of Flight Foundation/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Insider
The planemaker’s largest and highest-performing passenger variant is the 747-8i.
Stephen Brashear/Stringer via Getty Images
Source: NerdWallet
Powered by four General Electric engines, it can reach speeds of about 660 miles per hour and fly up 8,895 miles. This means the plane can zoom across three FIFA soccer fields in one second.
Stephen Brashear/Stringer via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
The advanced specs have come a long way since Boeing’s first 747-100, which could only fly up to 602 miles per hour across about 5,300 miles.
SOPA Images/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Simple Flying
But, the original variant’s innovative widebody design paved the way for high capacity, with Pan Am’s carrying 347 people. The 747-8i, by comparison, can accommodate up to 467 passengers in three classes.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
Source: Simple Flying
For over 50 years, the aircraft shuttled travelers to nearly every continent across the globe, connecting people to more places than ever before.
Boeing
Source: Boeing
The jet’s longtime success can be seen in the numbers, with the huge plane shuttling over 5.9 billion people across 75.5 billion miles as of 2020, which is enough to fly to the Moon and back to Earth 137,000 times.
Lukas Wunderlich/Shutterstock
Source: Boeing
However, innovations in dual-engine planes over the years made the 747’s four fuel-hungry engines and poor economics unattractive for operators.
Alexander Sidorov/EyeEm via Getty Images
Source: Insider
1: The legendary aircraft was built on request by Pan American World Airways founder and CEO Juan Trippe.
Bettmann/Contributor
Source: Northwestern University
But, as demand skyrocketed, the industry needed bigger and better planes that could fly farther than any other commercial aircraft could.
aviation-images.com/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Insider
So, Trippe went to Boeing in 1965 and asked for a plane more than twice the size of the 707…
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Source: Insider
…and it didn’t take much for the manufacturing giant to jump on the opportunity, especially after recently losing out on a contract to build the massive C-5A military transport plane.
US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Charlie Miller
Source: Boeing
2: The 747 was built by a team of some 50,000 Boeing employees, known as the “Incredibles.”
-/Getty Images
Source: Boeing
The workers were made up of engineers, mechanics, secretaries, and construction workers, among others, and built the plane in about 16 months in the late 1960s.
Bettmann/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
“We assembled the first 747 in snowstorms as they were constructing the building around us,” wrote Boeing Incredible Dwight Bates in a 2016 post published on the planemaker’s website.
Taylor Rains/Insider
Source: Boeing
He explained the conditions of being an Incredible meant sleeping at their desks and working crazy overtime hours. Not to mention, they were under immense pressure after being told they’ll lose the company if they didn’t get the 747 FAA-certified.
Bernard Crochet/Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
Fortunately, their efforts didn’t go to waste. Led by veteran Boeing engineer Joe Sutter, who is known as the “father of the 747,” the iconic plane took its first flight in 1969 and was in commercial service with Pan Am in 1970.
AFP/Stringer via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
3: The 747 was the world’s first widebody passenger aircraft and the first with a partial second level.
aviation-images.com/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Museum of Flight
Boeing created five different 747 variants: the 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, 747-400, and the 747-8, which were bought by dozens of airlines, like Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Delta Air Lines.
Museum of Flight Foundation/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Insider
The planemaker’s largest and highest-performing passenger variant is the 747-8i.
Stephen Brashear/Stringer via Getty Images
Source: NerdWallet
Powered by four General Electric engines, it can reach speeds of about 660 miles per hour and fly up 8,895 miles. This means the plane can zoom across three FIFA soccer fields in one second.
Stephen Brashear/Stringer via Getty Images
Source: Boeing
The advanced specs have come a long way since Boeing’s first 747-100, which could only fly up to 602 miles per hour across about 5,300 miles.
SOPA Images/Contributor via Getty Images
Source: Simple Flying
But, the original variant’s innovative widebody design paved the way for high capacity, with Pan Am’s carrying 347 people. The 747-8i, by comparison, can accommodate up to 467 passengers in three classes.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
Source: Simple Flying
