In the Long Shadows of Past Successes
On Tuesday, 06 December 2022, Boeing completed production of its 1,574th and final 747. Subject aircraft—a 747-8F freighter, registration N863GT—was delivered to cargo airline Atlas Air, the world’s largest operator of 747s, on 31 January 2023. The delivery marked the final chapter in an aeronautical saga that spans upwards of five-decades, one-hundred-plus customers, 54 airlines, 118-million flight hours, 23-million flight cycles, and an estimated four-billion passengers.