Boeing 747 Heading Towards Retirement

It pains me to say but one of my favorite aircraft of all time is nearing retirement. The 747, believe it or not, just turned 47 years old! Yeah, hard to believe!

It was on February 9th, 1969 when, shortly after the first 747 took to the sky for the first time, commercial air travel changed forever. Since it’s introduction to commercial flight, the Boeing 747 (aptly named the Queen of the Skies) has ruled the skies. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

Even though the 747 is still being produced, Boeing is decreasing the production of the aircraft because of a lack of demand. After all there are better, more efficient, newer planes out there, right?


Air France retires 747

The most recent airline to retire the aircraft was Air France. And they honored Queen’s legacy by making a pretty cool video. Take a look:

Bottom line

The commercial aviation industry is going a different direction. They’re looking for slightly smaller, more efficient planes that can travel just as far as the 747. I’m talking about the likes of an Airbus A350, a Boeing 777, or a Boeing 787.  

But the 747 will always hold a special place in my heart. Why? I’m not exactly sure. I’ve never flown in it. I think it has something to do with the dominance it’s had in the aviation industry for nearly 50 years. It’s a plane anyone can instantly recognize. And when the time comes (hopefully decades from now), it’ll be a plane everyone will miss.


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