The Era of Large Passenger Aircraft Comes to an End

▲Boeing 747 aircraft of Qantas Airways, Australia [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The jumbo jet Boeing 747, nicknamed the "Queen of the Skies," will cease production in about two years. First introduced in 1970, it boasted the second-highest number of orders among Boeing's large aircraft models, but due to its lack of commercial popularity and increasing losses with each unit produced, the company has finally decided to halt production.

Bloomberg News, citing sources, reported that "the Boeing 747 model is scheduled to be produced for the last time at the Seattle factory in about two years."

Following the earlier discontinuation decision of Airbus's A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft and a competitor, Boeing's cessation of jumbo jet production has been described by Bloomberg as marking the end of the era of super-large jets.

Since its initial release in 1970, the Boeing 747 has received a total of 1,571 orders. This ranks second in volume among large aircraft models, following the Boeing 777.

The 747 features a two-deck structure with luxurious spiral staircases, earning it nicknames such as "Queen of the Skies" and "Hotel in the Sky." As a super-large aircraft with an overwhelmingly high seat count and stability that withstands turbulence, it has been frequently used as a presidential aircraft.

However, large aircraft have low fuel efficiency and serve relatively few routes, leading to the decision to stop production. Typically, large aircraft operate to hub airports in various countries, but as more travelers prefer direct flights over transfers at hub airports, demand has declined.

According to Credit Suisse, 91% of Boeing 747s and 97% of Airbus A380s, representative models of large aircraft, are currently parked and not in operation.

Following this trend, the Boeing 747 has recorded a loss of $40 million per unit since 2016, after which production sharply declined to only six units per year. The last order for a Boeing 747 was for Air Force One in 2017.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.