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The B747 has been flying for 49 years. In that time it has seen many iterations. It’s hard to avoid asking the question “when will the last commercial 747 flights occur?

Often being called “The Queen of the Skies”, the Boeing 747 is one of Boeings more successful aircraft. In February, Boeing will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first B747 flight. Since then, the company has built around 30 aircraft a year. In fact, the total number of B747 aircraft built currently stands at 1,546.

The first B747-100 was delivered on December 12, 1969 to Pan Am Airlines. This was quickly followed by another just 7 days later. In fact, Boeing kept a similar pace up for much of the first year of B747 deliveries. In the 365 days following the first delivery 91 aircraft were delivered. That works out as 1 aircraft approximately every 4 days.

B747-800

The latest model currently being built and delivered by Boeing is the B748 and the B748F. In a three class configuration the aircraft is designed to hold 467 passengers. In fact, the B747-8 is the worlds longest airliner, succeeding the A340-600 by 5 feet. Additionally Boeing is currently working on two new Air Force One B747s for the US Government.

The first B747-8F was delivered on 12th October 2011 to Cargolux, while the first commercial B747-8 was delivered to Lufthansa on 25th April 2012. While there are 150 B747-8 and -8F orders, delivery is not taking place at the pace it once did. In the past year to date, only 12 B747s have been delivered. 10 of these aircraft were the freight version, including 7 for UPS. Of the 2 passenger aircraft one was delivered to an unidentified customer, with the other being set aside for the United States Air Force Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization Program. This is the fancy name given to the new Air Force One project.

When Will The Last Commercial 747 Flights Be?

Looking at figures supplied by Boeing, we can see that the last commercial 747 flights are unlikely to occur for some time. While many airlines are retiring their older worn out B747-400 models, some are only just beginning to receive new ones. Lufthansa is a firm believer in the B747. Over the 50 year course of the program the carrier has ordered a total of 81 B747s of varying designations. It is Boeing’s biggest B747-8 customer with 19 orders.

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British Airways is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 747-400. British Airways received its first B747-400 in 1989. It started retiring the B747-400 to the desert in 2008. While the first British Airways B747-400 to be stored was only 20 years old, the last will have slightly longer on the clock. BA want to retire their B747-400 fleet completely by 2024. Assuming they retire their newest aircraft last, the B747-400 will be 25 years old.

To put Lufthansa’s operations into perspective, the airline’s final outstanding B747 order was fulfilled on 30th April 2015. Although aircraft are constantly being built with longer life spans in mind, let’s assume the B747-8 has an expected lifespan of 25 years. This would indicate that the aircraft will be withdrawn from service in 2040.

Of course, the airplane could end up flying for longer, as while orders have slowed down, people are still ordering the B747. In contrast the last 747 flights could also occur much sooner if there is no longer a place for the aircraft in the aviation industry. Only time will tell.