What Happened To The Boeing 747?

Even though most people have seen a 747, people will still take pictures as we taxi into a lot of airports around the world... I doubt many pilots have that same experience! She's iconic.

I wouldn't call this a "rise and fall" ... the Queen of the Skies reigned for over 60 years, that's an impressive amount of time with hundreds built! So it is quite the success story!

The Concorde had a rise and a fall. The 747 had a glorious career!

Yup, I was a 74 captain for 25 years, all models. I can’t help but think almost each day how lucky I have been to fly all around the world with the Queen of the Skies. She was elegant, sturdy, safe and fast and oh boy, she could deliver an inner sense of pride and accomplishment !

Magical aircraft. My late dad flew her with German Cargo on his last assignment and was in his element in the cockpit. I can still vividly remember him taking me to Chicago on a 74. All the way across the Atlantic. Just me, dad and his two fellow crewmen...imagine that...

Aw, an icon finally takes a bow and goes down to into history. Legandary as she is, she will never be forgotten, her shape, her size and her service through billion of passengers that she carried all this years. Thank you.

When I was a kid in the early 80s, my dad who worked for the DOD took me to see the Space shuttle Columbia while it was mounted on top of a 747. It was parked on a tarmac away from the passenger jets outside of the Lambert airport in St. Louis, where fighter jets were parked and maintained, etc. With his DOD badge, we sped by the military guard and drove right up to the 747. As we got of our '78 Mercury, I remember how excited my dad and I were to see the space shuttle in person, but as I began to walk underneath the 747 I became more interested in the plane. I was amazed by how huge this plane was. The landing gear was massive, with tires taller than me and engines that looked as big as a car. Forty plus years later I still remember this like it was yesterday. What an era and experience to remember. No way this would be possible in today's time. Going to miss seeing this beautiful work of flying art... Thanks for the memories, Dad! Miss ya! RIP

I retired in 2016. I flew several iterations of the 747 twenty two years. I loved every minute of it.

Best plane ever built. My father flew for Pan Am for 37 years. He loved his job and loved the 747. Thanks great tribute. Glad they mentioned PanAm that's why we had the 707 and 747.

My uncle was the facility maintence supervisor for northwest airlines at one time. He took me into the hanger in Duluth, MN, and they had been restoring two 747’s. They had the glass cockpit installed but the fuselage was an empty shell. Got to sit in the pilots seat and fondle anything I wanted in that plane. It was incredible. Uncle threw me up inside one of the engines and we took a picture together inside the jet engine. Still have it framed 30 years later.

My most memorable 747 flight was from Montreal to Amsterdam. There was a bad thunderstorm in Montreal and we were one hour late on our departure. The flight attendants were adamant that we would not put anything other than just overcoats or other soft items in the overhead storage. People were unhappy about all the luggage that had to go under the seats, occupying all the accustomed foot space. But what else could we do. Like said, the crew was adamant. So, we took off and my seat was far back, where the plane started getting narrow. In fact, I had a straight view along the right isle all the way to the very front. And then it happened, we flew right through the remainder of the storm. Looking at the isle, I saw what felt like 15 degree twist left and right. Probably it was less -- I said it felt like that much. Anyway, about half of the overhead storage doors popped open and the coats dropped down. I think not many passengers were unhappy any more that there were no hard pieces of luggage up there. Well, the frightening experience lasted some 5 or 10 minutes. And the rest of the flight was smooth. But I keep my memory of the big 747 twisting that way.

This is about "Evolution of the Market," not a "Fall" of the B747. She served her purpose and helped usher in the age we are now if even if she precepted her own obsolescence. Loved flying the 747 - especially the -400 and, more recently, the -8. Always a fantastic ride.

I have flown over 3 million miles on a 747 going back to the early 80's. Mainly the USA and Asia, Europe, Australia. The irony is that my first job out of college was working in the 747 factory in Everett 2 years before my first 747 flight. I've flown on almost every version including a combi and an SP. I've flown in every class including the upper deck which was my favorite. Thank you Boeing 747,

I have flown on the 747 numerous times. When I was active duty military, the charter airlines would sometimes deploy these for overseas flights from the US. I felt like I was riding a ship in the sky. My best experience was on an Air France 747-400 from Atlanta to Paris. Besides the awesome service, the aircraft felt like butter in the air. It is such a beautiful aircraft!!! I've worked on National and Atlas cargo 747s for years. Highly efficient jets. Definitely gonna miss flying them.

I remember as a child flying on 747s during family vacations. The comfy seats and real soft landings. Definitely a far cry from today's airline experiences.

747 is legend. Planes will come and go but 747 will forever remain most iconic plane ever built.

I remember when this plane came out when I was a kid. It STILL is the most beautiful plane out there. I was glad I got to fly on one by accident because another flight got cancelled.

When I took my first European trip I was excited to see it was a 747. Such a iconic plane I always wanted to travel on.

I was a kid when this aircraft was introduced and was lucky to see it take off and land throughout the day when the pilots did actual manual training before sim was available . Never got tired of it. I've seen it up close while it was parking and it was like a giant bearing down . In the air at more than 30k feet going to London it was smooth as silk and touchdown was a caress. It is more like an emperor with the sky its realm. Certainly wrong to term it a fall; more like a gradual phase out . Long live !

I still remember my first 747 flight. South African Airways from Johannesburg to London Heathrow. I was an unaccompanied minor, flying to visit the UK at the age of 7. I was in awe of the double isles, how long the wings were and how smooth the plane was. I flew this route many times over, but never got over that initial fascination when I stepped on the 747 for the first time. What a lucky experience!