Report: Boeing to shut down production line for storied jet
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Boeing plans to shut down production of the Boeing 747 in about two years, according to Bloomberg. Above: A Qantas Airways Boeing 747-200 model jet photographed after it was newly delivered to the Australian airline.
Boeing plans to shut down production of the Boeing 747 in about two years, according to Bloomberg. Above: A Qantas Airways Boeing 747-200 model jet photographed after it was newly delivered to the Australian
Photo: Qantas
Boeing plans to shut down production of the Boeing 747 in about two years, according to Bloomberg. Above: A Qantas Airways Boeing 747-200 model jet photographed after it was newly delivered to the Australian airline.
Boeing plans to shut down production of the Boeing 747 in about two years, according to Bloomberg. Above: A Qantas Airways Boeing 747-200 model jet photographed after it was newly delivered to the Australian
Photo: Qantas
Over the past few years, airlines have celebrated their “final” Boeing 747 flights with a litany of nostalgic send-offs for the graceful old “Queen of the Skies.” But now, a more final ending is just two years away, when Boeing is set to stop production of the latest version of the jumbo, the 747-8.
That’s according to a report from Bloomberg, which says that even though Boeing has not officially announced the end of 747 production, it was able to tease out the decision from recent financial statements. The last order for a passenger version of the Boeing 747 was three years ago, in 2017 from the U.S. military for two jets to serve as Air Force One. Since then, Boeing has only sold the jet as a freighter, and built only six of them per year.
It’s a sad day indeed for aviation enthusiasts, to see the end of the an era that began in 1970, when the big four-engine bubble-tops made their debut. These days, airlines are more interested in buying smaller, lighter more efficient two-engine jets like the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350.
At SFO, the most recent 747 send-off was by Qantas, which in December sent its 747-400 back to Sydney. It was not just the final 747 flight from SFO, but the final Qantas 747 flight from the United States. (Read more about that flight here.) Qantas switched to the sleeker, smaller Boeing 787 Dreamliner for its SFO-Sydney flights, which are currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Qantas recently announced that it would retire all remaining 747s in its fleet this month.
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Before that, United put on a big event for its final Boeing 747 flight in November 2017 – a special voyage from San Francisco to Honolulu. The airline threw a big party at the airport and on the plane, and when it landed in Honolulu, airport officials draped it with a giant floral lei. (Read about that here.)
United spent about a year saying goodbye to the 747 throughout 2017, with several “final” flights to its various hubs, and an appearance at San Francisco’s Fleet Week celebrations in the fall.
The end of an era. Our beloved #B747 takes center stage at her last #FleetWeekSF
#QueenOfTheSkies #UA747Farewell #Avgeek pic.twitter.com/kANzS5x2QV
— United Airlines (@united) October 8, 2017
One of my favorite 747 stories happened just before that, when the old Queen came to the rescue in the same year United retired her. Remember the torrential storms that ripped through the West Coast in early 2017, shutting down most air traffic up and down the coast, marooning travelers? United pulled one of its jumbos off Japan service, and used it on a few SFO-LAX runs to break the backlog and get people home. (Read more about that flight here.) Imagine the surprise (and relief) of passengers expecting to ride home on a 737 or A320, and discovering that they’d be flying on a 747 instead!
Delta retired its B747 in December 2017 with a final flight between Detroit and Seoul. Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand stopped flying their 747s to San Francisco in 2014. And before that, EVA Air’s 747s flew away in 2012. Most recently, only Air China regularly flies a Boeing 747-8 between SFO and Beijing. British Airways, Lufthansa and Korean Air have also occasionally flown 747s to SFO, but not recently due to the pandemic.
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Chris McGinnis is SFGATE’s senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don’t miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE weekly email updates!
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