November 7, 2017: The last flight of the 747

For the last flight of the infamous 747, United plans to recreate its own 1970 inaugural San Francisco-Honolulu flight*. Since then, over 1,530 have been manufactured.

The 4-engine 747 saw passenger load shrink as competing 2-engine aircraft have become available. The Airbus A340 (1993) can fly longer trips. The Boeing 777 (1995) is more fuel efficient. The A380 (2007) carries more passenger.

More recently, even more efficient aircraft: the Boeing 787 (2011) and the Airbus A350 (2015) signified the beginning of the end for the 747,

“The 747 is, was and always will be an iconic aircraft. It ushered in the wide-body era, it became prestigious to operate, it was prestigious to fly in it, and state-owned airlines that often had no business buying it did so anyway for the prestige.” commented aviation consultant Scott Hamilton.

* the first flight was by Pan Am, January 22, 1970