When did the Boeing 747 come out?

Short answer

The Boeing 747 was unveiled to the public on 30 September 1968 in Everett, first flew on 9 February 1969 and entered service with Pan Am on 22 January 1970 on the New York-London route. Production lasted more than half a century: the last aircraft, a 747-8F freighter, was delivered to Atlas Air on 31 January 2023.

Published: September 21, 2026 · Updated: September 21, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 departing BostonFoto: 4300streetcar (CC BY 4.0)

From a Pan Am order to an aircraft built in 28 months

The origin of the 747 lies in a conversation between Juan Trippe, president of Pan Am, and William Allen, president of Boeing, in 1965. Trippe wanted an aircraft with more than twice the capacity of the 707 to lower the cost per seat and absorb the growth in transatlantic traffic. Pan Am signed an order for 25 aircraft in April 1966, and Boeing committed to delivering the first one by the end of 1969. To build it, Boeing erected the largest-volume industrial building in the world in Everett, north of Seattle, which is still in use today. Joe Sutter's team designed the aircraft while the factory was being built around it.

Unveiling, first flight and certification

The first 747 rolled out of the hangar on 30 September 1968 before flight attendants from the 26 airlines that had already ordered it. It flew on 9 February 1969 with Jack Waddell at the controls, and that summer it was shown at the Le Bourget air show. The Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines ran into development problems that delayed the program, and the FAA certified the aircraft on 30 December 1969. The inaugural passenger flight, on 22 January 1970 from New York to London, departed six hours late due to engine overheating that forced a change of aircraft.

Half a century of production

The 100 series gave way to the 200 in 1971, with greater range, and later to the 300 with an extended upper deck. The 747-400, introduced in 1988 with a two-pilot cockpit and winglets, was the best-selling version. The 747-8, with engines derived from the 787 and a longer fuselage, flew in 2010. In total Boeing built 1,574 aircraft, the last one in December 2022, delivered as a freighter to Atlas Air on 31 January 2023.