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Is the 747 obsolete?

Author

Ava White

Updated on February 15, 2026

Is the 747 obsolete?

The Boeing 747 is a four-engine airliner, first produced in 1968. It has been in service for over 47 years since January 22, 1970. Right now, the 747 is quickly being retired from passenger service, but it will likely remain in service as cargo planes for a while.

Then, is the 747 being phased out?

The Boeing 747 is an American wide-body, long–range, commercial jet airliner and cargo aircraft. Though the 747 was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold, production passed 1,000 in 1993. By June 2019, 1,554 aircraft had been built, with 20 of the 747-8 variants remaining on order.

Additionally, how many 747 are still flying? There were 533 Boeing 747 aircraft in airline service as of January 2020, comprising 10 747-100s, 20 747-200s, 3 747-300s, 363 747-400s and 137 747-8s. These aircraft are listed by airline operator and variant in the following table.

Subsequently, one may also ask, are 747 still used?

The aircraft will remain in the sky's for many years to come, albeit as a much more rare sight, with the most recent version, the 747-8 still having many more years to fly. Airlines such as British Airways, who run the largest remaining passenger fleet of 747s still intend to operate theirs until 2024.

Why was Boeing 747 discontinued?

Boeing recently removed three 747-8s from its ledger that were originally bound for Russian airline Transaero. That airline went bust in October 2015. Two of the three planes it had had ordered were built by Boeing but never delivered. Those aircraft are now in storage and it's not clear where they'll end up.

What is the oldest 747 still flying?

747-200. N303TW (20116/112) is the oldest -200 model still in existence at the time of writing. It is stored at Victorville, CA, and interestingly has the older style of three windows on the upper deck which was increased with later -200s.

Can a passenger jet do a barrel roll?

4 Answers. Yes, it has been done before in an even larger aircraft, the Boeing 367-80, very famously by "Tex" Johnston on August 7, 1955. When a barrel roll maneuver is properly performed the aircraft remains in a positive-G state, so no "inverted flight" is experienced by the aircraft.

Is a 747 hard to fly?

The 747, for most airline pilots, is pretty much like any other aircraft to fly once you have adapted to the height of the flight deck above the ground. You must learn to flare the aircraft for landing at what initially appears to be too high an altitude. Not any more difficult than most other commercial aircraft.

How many Airbus a380 have crashed?

The MD 80 has the highest number of passenger fatalities although the Boeing 737 (CFMI) follows closely with 1049 fatalities.

The Most Popular Airliners Worldwide.

Aircraft TypeAirbus A330
Total number currently operating709
Fatal accidents to passengers3
Total passenger fatalities454

Is 747 still safe?

The 747 has always been a safe and reliable aircraft , very well designed with plenty of back up systems if required.

Who still flies the 747?

Caspian Airlines bought it in 2018. The oldest 747 still flying ordinary punters is owned by Iran's Mahan Air. It first flew in 1986 and has been on Mahan's books since 2007. The majority of BA's active jumbos are far newer.

Where do planes go when they retire?

An aircraft boneyard (American English) or aircraft graveyard (British English) is a storage area for aircraft that are retired from service. Most aircraft at boneyards are either kept for storage with some maintenance or have their parts removed for reuse or resale and are then scrapped.

What is replacing the 747?

The Boeing 777X was unveiled on March 13 in a private, employees-only event. The 777X is destined to serve as Boeing's new flagship and replace the iconic 747 jumbo jet.

Why does 747 have a hump?

To make room for the cockpit, and to keep the plane maximally aerodynamic, there had to be a hump. Later versions of the 747 extended the hump farther back and made room for more first-class seats.

Which is bigger 747 or a380?

Accordingly, it built a plane that was significantly larger than the only other jumbo jet on the market, Boeing's 747. Airbus markets the A380 with a standard configuration holding 525 passengers in three classes. Both jumbo jets are significantly larger than the Boeing 777-300ER, the next-largest plane in production.

How much does a 747 cost?

The first 747-100 from Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was put into service in 1970, and those first planes sold at a list price of $24 million. Adjusting for inflation, that same 747 would sell today for $147.1 million. A new 747-8 passenger jet now lists for $367.8 million and the freighter version at $368.4 million.

What is the safest airplane in the world?

The 737-700/-800/-900 models are very reliable. These models have a 0.06 fatal crash rate per million flights.

These models currently have a clean flight record and all tie for being the safest airplane:

  • Airbus: A220, A319neo, A320neo, A321neo, A340, A350 and A380.
  • Boeing: 717, 747-8 and 787.
  • Embraer: 135, 140 and 145.

How many 747 8 have been sold?

In July 2018, there were 110 Boeing 747-8 aircraft in airline service with Lufthansa (19), Korean Air (17), Cargolux (14), Cathay Pacific Cargo (14), AirBridgeCargo Airlines (11), UPS Airlines (7), Polar Air Cargo (7), Air China (7), Silk Way West Airlines (5), Atlas Air (3), Qatar Airways Cargo (2), Saudia Cargo (2),

Does British Airways still fly 747s?

British Airways announced earlier this year that it plans to retire all its 747 jets by 2024. The airline is one of the last major carriers to still use the 747.

How many Airbus a380 have been built?

Airbus has already delivered 239 A380s. Only 50 A380 are yet to be delivered. The plane is a polarizing machine, with some viewing it as an eye-sore, and others as a testament to the marvels of modern engineering.

Can a 737 fly upside down?

A 737-700 will fly upside down, but it will lose altitude pretty fast, and unless you drop the gear the airspeed will increase pretty quickly.

What is the oldest passenger plane still in service?

The oldest commercial aircraft in service is a 737
Since then the airline is long gone but the aircraft continues its service. The 737-200 with the serial number 20335 has changed several owners before being acquired by Airfast Indonesia in 1991, where it is still used for flights under the registration PK-OCG.

How much fuel does a 747 hold in gallons?

A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon of fuel (about 4 liters) every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer).

How many tennis balls fit in a 747?

The total volume of the 747–400 is 1035 cubic meters, if we are including both passenger volume and cargo volume. Meanwhile, the volume of a tennis ball is 8 cubic inches, or 0.000131097 cubic meters. Thus, the fuselage of the 747 would fit 7,894,917 tennis balls.

Why is it called 747?

The most well known aircraft in the 7×7 series is the Boeing 747, which also goes by the nickname “jumbo jet.” The 747 made aviation history. It was designed in the 1960s as a response to an increase in air traffic.

How many rivets are in a 747?

There are 6 million parts on one 747, for example - 40,000 rivets on each wing.

How many 747 have been built?

More than 1,200 747s have been built, and it will be in production for many years to come. The basic soundness of the design has enabled it to be improved and enlarged over time so that the current Boeing 747-400 can carry up to 524 passengers over distances as far as 8,400 miles.

How much does jet fuel cost?

As of Monday afternoon, Jet-A is selling to corporate jets for an average of $5.21 per gallon. (Fuel is usually more expensive on the coasts and cheaper in the Midwest.) Because the cost of Jet-A closely tracks the price of a barrel of oil, fuel costs for private jets have quadrupled since 2000.

Does each president get a new plane?

On 28 January 2015, the Air Force announced that the Boeing 747-8 would be the next presidential aircraft. These airplanes, which were flight-tested but never delivered, will be retrofitted with telecommunications and security equipment to bring them to the required security level of presidential aircraft.

Does Qantas still fly 747?

Qantas has scheduled the Boeing 747 on eight domestic services between November 2019 and February 2020 ahead of the type's withdrawal from the fleet by the end of 2020.

How much money did Airbus lose on the a380?

The decision could hurt up to 3,500 jobs and already cost the plane maker 463 million euros (about $523 million) in losses in 2018, Airbus said.

When was the last Boeing 747 built?

The last to order the -400 was China Airlines in November 2002, with the last passenger 747-400 constructed in 2005 and delivered in April of that year. It was the 1358th 747 (MSN33737/B-18215). The last 747-400 was a -400ERF delivered on December 22, 2009 to Kalitta Air.

How much is an Airbus a380?

An Airbus A380 costs $432.6 million (Dh1. 58 billion) but a Boeing Dreamliner comes in at around $265m.

What is the landing speed of a 747?

Speeds vary according to performance, environmental conditions and weight but typically a fully loaded 747 on a normal long haul flight would take off from a typical length runway at around 160 knots which is 184 mph. A typical fully loaded 747 would be landing at around 25,0000kgs.

How many 747 are still in service?

There were 533 Boeing 747 aircraft in airline service as of January 2020, comprising 10 747-100s, 20 747-200s, 3 747-300s, 363 747-400s and 137 747-8s. These aircraft are listed by airline operator and variant in the following table.

How much weight can a 747 carry?

Boeing 747-200 Freighter – 377,840kg
The Boeing 747-200F, an all-cargo transport variant of the 747-200 passenger aircraft, can carry a maximum payload of 110t.