Boeing 747 is celebrating its 50th birthday – here’s a look at its glamorous (and chequered) history
THE Boeing 747 turns 50 this week and for its birthday we take a look at the plane’s history – which has been both glamorous and controversial.
The planes, known as the Jumbo Jet or the Queen of the Skies, revolutionised air travel in a time when it was just becoming available for the masses.
Early days
The Boeing 747 originated in 1963 as the US Air Force needed a large and capable aircraft to carry cargo that couldn't fit in planes at the time.
Air travel for the general public was also growing at this time as people began to take more foreign holidays.
The 747 was preceded by the 707, a plane designed in 1957 with a narrow body and one aisle of seats inside.
But Boeing had been asked by the president of Pan American Airlines, Juan Trippe, if it could design an aircraft that was twice the size of the 707.
With more and more people flying, planes needed to be bigger, so the 747 was designed with a distinctive bulge in its nose and a partial double deck, though most passengers would sit in the below deck.
It was an immediate success, as in 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 of the aircraft at a cost of $525million (£400million).
Taking off
The plane was introduced to the public on September 30 in 1968, when journalists and representatives of 26 different airlines turned up to its reveal at Boeing’s Everett, Washington factory.
The first ever flight of a Boeing 747 was two years later by Pan Am, from New York to London on January 22, 1970, christened by US First Lady at the time - Pam Nixon.
However, the first plane that was meant to be used overheated, so a substitute plane had to be used instead, delaying take off by six hours.
Carrying 400 people, the plane had a 3-4-3 configuration and looked supersized in the skies to those who were used to the 707 at half its size and capacity.
At the time, a young engineer from San Francisco told the : “There are just too many people in it. The aisles are crowded; there aren't enough toilets; and the meal service is too slow. There's nothing special about it, either.”
However reviews weren’t all doom and gloom – a passenger from Long Island said: “That was the first flight I've ever been on where you could really stretch and not feel like you're inside a tent.”
Other airlines began to invest in the planes, attracted by the fact that a full plane would cut the cost of a passenger flying by half.
The high life
Over the years, airlines did all sorts with their 747s to make them more appealing for passengers.
In the 1970s, American Airlines introduced piano bars into the planes, whereas Air France had a cocktail bar, complete with a bartender.
Thanks to its size, the 747 was a large component of the “golden age of travel”.
Former British Airways flight attendant Pamela Kamula told : "Air travel was a bit more special and people treated it that way. In those days, people dressed up for their flight.”
These were also the years when flight attendants were treated “like models”.
She revealed: "I think we got the best time, treated so well, like models are treated today. Doors opened, if you were a 'hostie' as they called us.
“It was a time when everything was starting to happen in international travel, people were starting to fly and we were part of the excitement.”
Controversies over the years
Flying isn’t always glamourous and the 747 has had a lot of controversy.
To date, Jumbo Jets have been involved in 146 aviation accidents incidents, resulting in the loss of 3,722 lives.
The planes have been hijacked 32 times, resulting in 24 deaths.
However most accidents haven’t been to do with the planes, but based on pilot error.
The most famous 474 hijacking was Pan Am flight 73, which was hijacked on the ground in Karachi by armed Palestinian men from the Abu Nidal Organistion in 1986.
The most recent crash was in January 2017, which killed four members of crew on board as well as 35 people on the ground.
The last of the Jumbo Jets
Since 1966, more than 1,500 of the planes have been delivered, with the very last Boeing 747 passenger plane ordered in July 2017 for Korean Airlines.
In 2017, the planes were given a send-off by United Airlines with a “farewell flight” from San Francisco to Honolulu.
Qantas announced that its existing 474s would be retired by 2021, and British Airways, the largest operator 747s, plans to retire its entire fleet of the planes by February 2024.
Though around 500 of the planes were still flying last November, airlines are now replacing them after 50 years of service with larger planes such as the more modern Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and the Airbus A320.
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However many of the existing planes won’t be scrapped – instead, they are being used for cargo shipment – their original intent.
While the planes won’t be seen at passenger airports in the near future, their legacy still lives on in the skies.
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