Attached to Chapter 10/Durability
THE BEGINNING OF THE ERA OF MASS AFFORDABLE AIR TRAVEL
Courtesy of everythingpanam.com
During 55 years of B747 production (1967-2022), Boeing sold 1,574 of these aircraft to more than 100 operating carriers. During that time, Boeing annals show that the aircraft logged more than 118 million flight hours and nearly 23 million flight cycles.
The B747, the world’s first wide-body twin-aisle aircraft, was built in just 29 months by hand (i.e., no robots). During the B747 feasibility process, which included definition, design, development, testing, certification and introduction into service, 75,000 engineering drawings were generated—and those were the pre-computer days...
The first B747-100 test flight took place at Everett, Washington, on 09 February 1969. There were two more aviation sensations that year: On 02 March, Andre Turcat piloted the first Concorde test flight at Toulouse, France, and on 20 July, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon while Michael Collins orbited in the Apollo 11 module.
Some 50 years later, Concorde supersonic passenger services are no more, and extra-planetary missions remain the preserve of astronauts; but the B747 has revolutionized long-haul air travel.
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Pan Am Museum Foundation |
Pan American World Airways had introduced the B707, the first jetliner produced by Boeing, into commercial service in 1958. The aircraft was an amazing commercial success because it reduced flying times by half. Inspired by the achievements of the B707 operations, Juan Trippe, the formidable Founder of Pan Am and its subsequent Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, predicted a vast increase in intercontinental air travel during the ensuing decades. In the mid-1960s, Trippe forcefully argued the case for a completely new jetliner design that would carry two to three times as many passengers as the B707. He eventually sealed his business plans with a handshake at The Boeing Company: according to contemporary reports, Trippe said ‘If you build it, I’ll buy it,’ to which Bill Allen, then-Chairman of Boeing, responded ‘I’ll build it if you buy it.’
Pan Am Historical Foundation. Bill Allen (left) and Juan Trippe (right), 1969
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Design concept proposals for the B747-100: Top Left: First Class. Note the spiral staircase; Top Right: Upper Deck Lounge; Bottom Left: Main Deck Lounge. Note fore-and-aft seating configuration; Bottom Right: Economy Class
Although reportedly verging on bankruptcy, Boeing constructed at Everett, Washington, the world’s biggest building by volume to house the production of the B747—at that time the largest commercial aircraft ever built. A dedicated team of engineers was assembled, called ‘The Incredibles,’ led by Joe Sutter, who became a legend in the aviation world.
In his book 747 Creating the World’s First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation (Smithsonian Books, 2006), Joe Sutter outlines Boeing’s two-stage marketing strategy for B747s: when no longer required for passenger service, they would fly cargo as Freighters. Hence the unprecedented width of the passenger cabin, 20 feet (6 metres), compared with 12 feet 4 inches (3.8 metres) for the Boeing B707, to accommodate high-density passenger loads with twin aisles. The cabin could accommodate 20-inch (51-centimetre) wide, 10-abreast Economy Class seating or main-deck double pallet-loading based on the standard dimensions of 8-foot-by-8-foot (2.4-metre-by-2.4-metre) containers. The ‘weird hump’ at the front of the fuselage was to accommodate the massive hinged nose-section, or ‘mouth,’ for straight-in front cargo-loading. The three-crew cockpit was positioned above the main deck.
Lufthansa
Cargolux
Joe Sutter’s memoirs describe the wave of optimism that swept through the aviation sector in the ‘sizzling '60s’: in Europe, Russia, and the U.S. there was a firm belief that intercontinental passenger routes would soon be served purely by supersonic transport (SST). But those dreams did not materialize because of economic crises, the termination of the Boeing 2707 SST developments, the collapse of the Russian Tupolev SST programme, spiking jet-fuel prices and environmental concerns. And Concorde, the world’s only successful supersonic passenger airliner, ceased operations in 2003 after 27 years of service. (More information is provided in the Concorde Unique Case Study attached to Chapter 4/Aero identity.)
Instead of SST, it was the B747 that opened up the world’s long-haul routes and transformed the lives of countless numbers of airline passengers. Only in recent years have airlines started to retire B747s from passenger-service operations, and many of these units have been converted into Freighters (special credit and kudos to Boeing strategists).
Pan Am Museum Foundation. First-class Dining Service on the Main Deck
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Cocktail Service on the Upper Deck
‘Would the B747 have been built without Pan Am?’ mused Joan M. Benham, formerly System Director for Frequent Traveler Marketing at Pan Am, in an interview for this Case Study. ‘Probably not. Juan Trippe had a vision: to provide an aircraft capable of flying more passengers and more cargo farther and faster than ever before. Pan Am was the reason that Boeing built the B747.
‘Pan Am’s initial commitment of US$590 million was made without even seeing a prototype of the B747. And Pan Am played a dominant role in the engineering and design aspects of the aircraft,’ she added. ‘Of prime importance was the objective to build an airplane that would prove safer, more efficient, more comfortable and easier to fly than any other previous long-range aircraft. With 16 cabin crew and significantly improved inflight service standards, passengers were able to enjoy the interior spaciousness, plush cabin furnishings, 10% wider seats, bigger armrests and the smooth quiet ride. Naturally, everyone loved the attractive economy-class fares.
‘For the four-engine programme, Pratt & Whitney developed a high-bypass turbofan engine, the JT9D-3, generating more than 40,000 pounds of thrust, and the B747 flew at 30% lower operating costs than its predecessors, contributing to airline profitability.’
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Economy Class
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the B747, the world’s first mass-produced, four-engined, twin-aisle, semi-double-decker, civil aviation jetliner (affectionately known as the ‘Whale,’ the ‘Jumbo,’ and the ‘Queen of the Skies’), revolutionized air travel, enabling airline passengers to fly longer distances at greater speeds and more affordably than ever before.
Designed to meet the specifications of the original launch customer-airline, Pan Am, with a targeted seat-cost reduction of 30 per cent, the usable cabin floor space onboard the B747 was nearly three times the size of its predecessor, the Boeing B707. At the world’s major airports, new operating procedures and standards had to be introduced to accommodate this long-range wide-body aircraft. Over the years, in its variant forms (including the Combi, the Dreamlifter, the Short Range, the Special Performance, and the Stretched Upper Deck) the B747 became a much-loved presence across the globe.
TWA
TWA
TWA
Thai Airways International
Thai Airways International
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Varig
Varig. Safety Card
Critics said the strange outline of the B747 fuselage resembled a ‘flying ocean liner’ or ‘horizontal apartment block.’ But the big-time gamble by Boeing and Pratt & Whitney (representing billions of dollars) quickly turned into a worldwide triumph.
In 1969, the ‘Queen of the Skies’ was a sensation at the Paris Air Show. On 21 January 1970, Pan Am inaugurated its New York to London B747 service, and the sight of this enormous new aircraft landing at Heathrow Airport created a media frenzy.
At New York’s JFK Airport, there was a vast expansion of the Pan Am hangar and workshop complex, along with a five-fold increase in passenger-handling facilities. B747 utilization averaged nine hours per day, and in September 1971, Pan Am carried its millionth B747 passenger.
Progressively, the B747 became one of the most readily recognized jetliners, operated by many dozens of carriers in even the most remote parts of the world. In 1998 the total number of B747s in service peaked at over 1,000.
Malaysia Airlines
South African Airlines
British Airways
The B747 interior programme was headed by Walter Dorwin Teague Associates (Boeing’s in-house design company) with input from Pan Am as launch customer.
Traditionally, galleys, lavatories and coat closets had been positioned along the aircraft sidewalls. But in the B747, to free up space for more window seats, fixtures were moved to ‘centre-islands’ located between the two aisles. There were six galleys and twelve lavatories; bracketed by cross-aisles, these structures created ‘divider-walls,’ sectioning the interior into separate rooms, or ‘salons,’ designated A, B, C, D and E zones. The Main and Upper Decks were connected by a stairway.
Pan Am Museum Foundation
Pan Am Museum Foundation
Pan Am
Other innovations included broad, flat ceiling panels; flip-up armrests so that passengers could spread out when space was available; closable storage bins instead of open hat racks; passenger service units (PSUs) located between seats because the ceilings were too high for access; stereo-sound, 7-channel plug-in audio inflight entertainment (IFE); wide movie screens mounted on rear-facing decorative panels; and direct and indirect cabin lighting with wash-lit ‘architectural reveals’ on vertical sidewall panels to make windows seem larger and brighter, even though they were same size as the B707 windows.
When asked about the cabins, Kelly Cusack, Director Collections & Curation at The Pan Am Museum Foundation, summarized, ‘In 1970, on the B747-100, Pan Am offered two classes of service with a total of 362 seats, compared with an average of 145 seats on the B707. There were 26 first-class seats in A zone and 32 first-class seats in B zone. Economy-class seating was 9-abreast in C, D and E zones: 104, 86 and 114 respectively. The Upper Deck was furnished as an elegant cocktail lounge with 16 seats that were not sold to passengers.’ Pan Am’s publicity announcements described the decor style as ‘gracious living.’ The sidewalls were finished in ‘pale eggshell,’ the basic shade for upholstery was ‘neutral stone beige,’ and the wall-to-wall carpet was ‘charcoal brown with grey flecks.’ The First Class zones feature a blue colour treatment, and for variety, the remaining three zones each had their own colour identity: gold, orange, and scarlet, respectively.
Kelly Cusack continued, ‘During the first oil crisis, airlines faced an enormous downturn in business, resulting in problems with over-capacity. When Pan Am could not fill First Class, the airline offered a Convertible Lounge in B zone, with fore-and-aft seating. Depending on the competition, seats could be sold in B zone, or they could be made available free of charge as part of an economy-class lounge. (Descriptions of lounges are provided in my ‘Happy Days in Economy’ article listed in the MORE INFORMATION section at the end of this Case Study.)
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Note the mandatory seat belts located beneath the flipped-up armrests.
Pan Am Museum Foundation. In First Class, tables had extension panels to provide a larger area for inflight dining (as shown in the B zone Dining configuration photograph displayed later in this Case Study).
Pan Am Museum Foundation. B zone Dining configuration. First-class passengers were treated to gourmet cuisine and vintage wines.
‘In 1972, Pan Am tested a Dining-Room concept in B zone. Following successful feedback, the airline refurbished its Upper Deck Lounges to accommodate the fabled Dining-in-the-Sky, designed by Maxim’s de Paris. (Detailed descriptions are found in my ‘Higher Calling’ article listed in the MORE INFORMATION section at the end of the Pan Am Blue Case Study.)
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Note the location of the spiral staircase at the front of the Upper Deck.
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Upper Deck Dining-in-the-Sky
Pan Am Museum Foundation
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Bon appétit
‘In 1974 Pan Am reduced the seating in First Class from 58, located in A zone and B zone, down to 30, located only in A zone; and B zone was converted to a quiet area for an innovative Frequent Traveler (FT) programme: 10-abreast seating with fold-down middle-position seat backs provided table space for passengers’ newspapers, etc. Unsold seats were left empty, no movies were shown, and no children were booked in this zone.’
Pan Am Museum Foundation. B zone Frequent Traveler configuration
To serve ultra-long-haul routes non-stop (e.g., New York to Tokyo, Los Angeles to Sydney, New York to Tehran), Boeing built the B747SP (Special Performance) variant (with no E zone), and Pan Am was the launch customer in 1976. This aircraft interior was the real game-changer of the era: the product upgrades revolutionized the first- and business-class travel markets.
As Cusack explains, ‘Pan Am had only ten B747SPs, so it was possible to retrofit the entire fleet relatively quickly and assess commentary from high-net-worth customers. Initially, there were two classes of service: 44 first-class seats spread across A and B zones and 136 and 86 economy-class seats in C and D zones respectively. The Upper Deck accommodated 14 passengers for dining services.
‘The B747SP first-class seats were Sleeperette-style, with extendable footrests, similar to stretch-out seats flown by Pan Am during the pre-jet, piston-engine era. This unique upgrade was instantly popular.
Pan Am Museum Foundation. Sleeperette-style seats
In C zone Pan Am subsequently launched Business (Clipper) Class, heralded as the first dedicated, branded airline business-class cabin. At a time when corporations had restrictions on employees flying First Class, this cabin featured luxurious service standards and competitive fares to attract long-haul business travellers. (The development of this B747 variant is described in detail in my ‘Game-Changing B747SP’ article listed in the MORE INFORMATION section at the end of this Case Study.)
Pan Am Museum Foundation
‘Because the SP product developments generated excellent occupancy levels, Pan Am started to upgrade its B747-100 fleet in 1980. 21 first-class Sleeperettes were installed in A zone and 10 in the Upper Deck, replacing the earlier Dining-Room usage; 42 business-class seats were installed in B zone, initially 8-abreast but later reconfigured to 6-abreast. Other airlines had to scramble to catch up and compete.’
Since the 1980s, airlines have waged brutal wars of attrition, with every market segment up for grabs. At all times, however, the ‘gentle-giant’ B747 has been a prestigious presence, both in the air and at airports worldwide. This aircraft has more than earned its place in the history books as a transformative element in global society and the enabler of mass affordable air travel.
Pan Am Museum Foundation
Since the turn of the millennium, airlines have demonstrated a growing preference for smaller, narrow-body, single-aisle, twin-engined aircraft that provide significant ‘green’ jet-fuel economies and greater operational flexibility, for example the B787 Dreamliner and the B797.
On 29 July 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic (and to the extreme dismay of all B747 enthusiasts, including your writer), David Calhoun, Chief Executive Officer, announced that Boeing would end production of the iconic ‘Queen of the Skies,’ citing the results of ‘current market dynamics and outlook.’
The last B747 ever built left the Boeing factory on 06 December 2022. This was a B747-8F, a Freighter variant, destined for Atlas Air, a global cargo carrier whose fleet list currently includes 52 of the B747 Freighter variants.
Korean Air. B747 fleet
The final Passenger-service B747 was delivered in 2017 to Korean Air, whose fleet list currently includes 18 of the B747 Passenger-service units.
The Pan Am pioneers who first developed the B747 would have been intrigued—thrilled even—to see so many onboard applications of state-of-the-art technology, such as mood lighting, HEPA-type filters to ensure cabin air quality standards, and innovations in inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC). Each aircraft seat position includes a USB port for charging personal electronic devices (PEDs) and a personal LED monitor, with size varying by class of service.
In the First Class cabin, the Kosmo Suite 2.0 offers a range of lighting options that can be adjusted to suit individual passenger preferences, such as reading, relaxing, TV-watching, dining or sleeping. The sliding doors have one-way, louvred windows; this means that the passenger can look out without other people looking in. At each seat position, there is storage space for personal belongings such as a briefcase, a laptop computer, shoes, etc. There is a personal closet for wrinkle-free hanging of coats and jackets. An easy push-and-release tray-table can be used for dining or as a work surface.
Korean Air. The pictures above show the B747-8i cabin configurations and seating accommodations. 1 Main Deck Floor Plan. 2 Upper Deck Floor Plan. 3 Dining service in the First Class cabin. 4,5 First Class. Kosmo Suite. Note the sliding door panels that provide personal privacy. 180-degree flat-bed open configuration, length of 83 inches (211 centimetres), width of 24 inches (61 centimetres). 6,7 Prestige Class. Business-class seats with 180-degree reclining angle, length of 75 inches (190 centimetres) and width of 21 inches (53 centimetres). 8,9 Economy Class. Note the 10-abreast seating with 33-34-inch (84-86 centimetre) pitch and width of 17.2 inches (44 centimetres).
As of March 2023, the largest operator of Passenger-service B747s is Lufthansa.
The airline flies 19 such units and has confirmed potential commitments to continue to operate this B747 fleet in commercial service for several years into the future.
Lufthansa. The corporate-identity emblem is featured in images at the opening of Chapter 4/Aero Identity.
Lufthansa. First-class champagne service in A zone. Note the coat closet doors at the front of the cabin.
Lufthansa. Premium-class sleeper-seats. Note the corporate-identity emblem on the cabin backwall.
Television reports regularly show the President of the United States waving from the boarding-door of a huge aircraft known as Air Force One. Do television viewers realize that the President is flying on a Boeing B747? This is the same ‘Jumbo’ jetliner that has successfully carried billions of airline passengers over the past five decades.
Wikimedia Commons. U.S. Air Force One
And there are still two more deliveries pending. These are the already-manufactured, new Air Force Ones (technically called VC-25) that are currently undergoing modifications and retrofitting in preparation for replacing the two current, aging Air Force One units. The Air Force One aircraft currently in service have been flying for over 30 years, and the two new B747s are expected to fly until the 2050s. Or beyond?
One wonders whether Juan Trippe, Bill Allen and Joe Sutter could have imagined that their huge gamble on the 'Queen of the Skies' would produce such a crowning achievement, this amazing track record of durability.
On 31 January 2023, thousands of current and former Boeing employees and other attendees gathered at the company’s Production Facility in Everett, Washington, to commemorate and celebrate the end of the Boeing B747 production era.
Headed by Stan Deal, Executive Vice President of The Boeing Company and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, this unique, inspirational ceremony was livestreamed to aviation communities worldwide. A video recording of the event was posted on www.boeing.com.
A central feature of the historic presentation at the Boeing factory was an enormous parade of flags, each one displaying the corporate identity of a B747 customer-airline.
Watching the online broadcast, I felt a great surge of pride when I saw the emblems of British Airways, Pan Am, and South African Airways. I recalled vivid episodes from my many years of work for these three international airlines, when I was responsible for the development and implementation of multi-class upgrades for their B747 fleets.
To be personally involved in such an amazing range of B747 mega-marketing campaigns was truly a great privilege.
South African Airways
British Airways
Pan Am
Parts of this Case Study first appeared as a published article in the Aircraft Interiors International 2019 Design Showcase. The Case Study contains notes from my own B747 desk files from a time when I was honoured to hold the following positions: Controller of Corporate Identity at British Airways in London; General Manager Product Design & Development at Pan American World Airways in New York; and Consultant to South African Airways in Johannesburg.
JETLINER CABINS is a proud founding sponsor of The Pan Am Museum Foundation, the source of multiple images found in this Case Study.
- Jennifer Coutts Clay
Published Articles about the B747 written by Jennifer Coutts Clay
‘Game-Changing’ B747SP by Jennifer Coutts Clay,
Aircraft Interiors International 2020 Design Showcase, December 2019
What was so special about the B747SP (Special Performance) variant?
Read the article
High-Density B747 Cabins by Jennifer Coutts Clay,
Aircraft Interiors International magazine, September 2019
The evolution of the 568-seat LOPA (layout of passenger accommodations) on the B747SR (Short Range) variant
Read the article
Happy Days in Economy by Jennifer Coutts Clay,
Aircraft Interiors International magazine, March 2019
Passenger experience onboard the B747-100 main deck lounges flown in the 1970s
Read the article
For more about the development of Pan Am cabin programmes, please review the Pan Am Blue Case Study attached to Chapter 4/Aero Identity.
(Listed Alphabetically)
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