The Jumbo Era Ends: Boeing Delivers Last 747 to Atlas Air

EVERETT — Boeing celebrated today the delivery of the final 747 to Atlas Air (5Y). Thousands of people, including current and former employees, customers, and suppliers, gathered to mark the delivery of the final Boeing 747-8 Freighter, the 1,574th produced over the course of 55 years.

The final Boeing 747 delivery is set to take place tomorrow at 8 a.m. Everett time.

Boeing and Airline CEOs Pay Tribute to the Queen of the Skies

On stage at the Boeing 747 factory, Boeing CEO David Calhoun said that the company continued to have visions "just like this one,” adding that its production lines were full of innovation and thanking everyone who’d been involved with the Jumbo program.

“If a company ever needed to stand tall on a legacy it was the Boeing Company.”

David Calhoun, Boeing CEO

https://twitter.com/BoeingAirplanes/status/1620546246288211969?s=20&t=6zGtFLwo80pT5RqUCVjjgA

John Travolta also went up on stage, calling the aircraft “a pleasure to fly,” noting his training in Seattle back in the day. He thanked the employees who built the 747 over the decades.

Another notable quote came from Lufthansa (LH) CEO Carsten Spohr, who said to the thousands gathered, “We just fall in love with Boeing designs.” He highlighted that the airline was the launch customer for the Boeing 737, the European launch customer for the Boeing 747, and the launch operator of the 747-8I.

Finally, 5Y President & CEO John Dietrich took to the stage, saying, “I’m very proud to represent more than 5,000 employees of Atlas Air. We all share a deep admiration for today’s guest of honor – the awesome Queen of the Skies. To see our aircraft on this big stage is a very proud moment!”

The Final Boeing 747

The airframe N863GT was rolled out from the Boeing 747 production line at PAE on December 6, 2022, at a special event that marked the end of over half a century of production of the iconic 'Jumbo Jet.'

The airliner, whose origins date back to the mid-1960s as a military transport, evolved to become the world’s first widebody passenger jet with the help of Pan Am’s Juan Trippe and has later taken on numerous roles as a freighter aircraft and a VIP Transport as well.

The Boeing 747-8F has proved to be popular thanks to its ability to carry heavy loads over long distances.

According to Boeing, the latest iteration of the Jumbo freighter has 4,325 nm (8,010 km) of range, the capacity to carry 293,400 lb (133.1t) of revenue-generating cargo, and space for 34 cargo pallets on its main deck.

Stay tuned for more images of the final Boeing 747 delivery from our staff at the Everett factory.

Featured image: Daniel Gorun/Airways