Boeing 747: ‘Queen of the Skies’ reign is coming to an end as Covid-19 hits airlines – The National

Boeing 747: ‘Queen of the Skies’ reign is coming to an end as Covid-19 hits airlines – The National

The last 747-8 is expected to roll out of Seattle in about two years, Bloomberg reports, marking the end of the iconic jumbo jet

















Boeing 747 aircraft of German Lufthansa are parked at the airport in Frankfurt. AP Photo







Boeing has yet to tell its employees, but the company is pulling the plug on its hulking 747 jumbo jet, ending a half-century run for the twin-aisle pioneer.



The last 747-8 will roll out of a Seattle-area factory in about two years, a decision that has not been reported but can be teased out from subtle wording changes in financial statements, people familiar with the matter said.



It's a moment that aviation enthusiasts long have dreaded, signalling the end of the double-decker, four-engine leviathans that shrank the world. Airbus is meanwhile preparing to build the last A380 jumbo, after the final convoy of fuselage segments rumbled to its Toulouse, France, plant last month.



Yet for all their popularity with travellers, the final version of the 747 and Europe's superjumbo never caught on commercially as airlines turned to twin-engine aircraft for long-range flights.



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50 years of the Boeing 747 -