Peter Lobner

On 30 September 1968, the first Boeing 747 was rolled out at the company’s plant in Everett, WA. The first flight took place on 9 February 1969, and the FAA certified the 747 in December of that year. Pan Am was the first airline to offer Boeing 747 service on 22 January 1970, flying from New York to London.

After a 54-year production run, the last 747, a 747-8 freighter, was rolled out of the factory on Tuesday, 6 December 2022.  Boeing built a total of 1,574 747s in a range of models for commercial and military customers.

You can watch a short video (1.18 min) of the final rollout here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBc-CIjLIbA

Boeing delivered its last 747 on 31 January 2023 to Atlas Air.  Here’s the story:  https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/01/31/boeing-bids-farewell-icon-delivers-last-747-jumbo-jet.html

For more Boeing 747 history, check out these articles:

• “Photos: How the Boeing 747 Went from ‘Queen of the Skies’ to a Humble Cargo Plane,” TIME, 31 Jan 2023:https://time.com/6251758/boeing-747-airplane-last-delivery-photos/
• “Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet,” HistoryLink, 1 June 2021: https://www.historylink.org/file/21243