7 Ways the Boeing 747 Double Decker Jet Has Changed the Airline Industry
- By Graham Shear
- 12 months ago
- In Business
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The aircraft has been connecting people to more places for 50 years.
Boeing
Source: Boeing
The long-term success of the jet can be seen in its numbers. It has transported over 5.9 billion people along 75.5 billion miles by 2020. This is enough to fly to Earth 137,000 times.
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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.
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Source: Insider
1: Juan Trippe (Pan American World Airways CEO) requested that the legendary aircraft be built.
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Source: Northwestern University
As demand soared, the industry required larger and more capable planes that could fly further than any commercial aircraft.
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Source: Insider
So, Trippe went to Boeing in 1965 and asked for a plane more than twice the size of the 707…
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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.
Tech photo of the US Air Force Sgt. Charlie Miller
Source: Boeing
2: The 747 was constructed by the “Incredibles”, a team of about 50,000 Boeing employees.
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Source: Boeing
The crew included engineers, mechanics, secretaries and construction workers. The plane was built in just 16 months in late 1960s.
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Source: Boeing
Boeing Incredible Dwight Bates wrote, “We assembled our first 747 in snowstorms while they were constructing the building surrounding us,” in a 2016 post posted on the planemaker’s site.
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Source: Boeing
He explained that being an Incredible meant they had to sleep at their desks and work crazy overtime hours. They were also under tremendous pressure after being told that they would lose the company if the 747 FAA-certified was not achieved.
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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.
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Source: Boeing
3: The 747 was both the first widebody passenger aircraft in the world and also the first to feature a partial 2nd level.
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Source: Museum of Flight
Boeing produced five variants of the 747: the 747-100,00, 747-205, 747-220, 747-399, 747-399, 747-405, 747-405, 747-399, 747-405 and 747-407. These were all purchased by many airlines, including Cathay Pacific Airways, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air.
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Source: Insider
The 747-8i is the largest and most efficient passenger variant of the planemaker.
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Source: NerdWallet
It is powered by four General Electric engines and can travel up to 8,895 miles. The plane can travel three FIFA soccer fields in one second.
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Source: Boeing
The advanced specs of the 747-100 have come a long ways since then, when it could only fly 602 miles per hour over 5,300 miles.
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Source: Simple Flying
However, the original variant’s innovative widebody design opened the door to high capacity. Pan Am’s carried 347 people. The 747-8i, on the other hand, can hold up to 467 passengers and is available in three classes.
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Source: Simple Flying
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