How many Boeing 747s were built?

Boeing built 1,574 Boeing 747s between 1968 and 2023. The final aircraft, a 747-8 Freighter, was delivered to Atlas Air on 31 January 2023, ending a 54-year production run at Everett, Washington.

Are Boeing 747s still flying?

Yes. Production ended in 2023, but 747s remain in service. Freighters make up most of the active fleet, flown by carriers such as Atlas Air, UPS, Cargolux and Kalitta. Lufthansa operates the largest remaining passenger 747 fleet, alongside Korean Air and Air China.

How many variants of the Boeing 747 were built?

Boeing produced five main passenger generations — the 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, 747-400 and 747-8 — each with freighter, combi, short-range and extended-range sub-variants, alongside special-mission aircraft such as the VC-25 and Shuttle Carrier.

Introduction to the Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body airliner built by Boeing from 1968 to 2023. Boeing delivered the last of 1,574 aircraft to Atlas Air on 31 January 2023.

The Boeing 747 is a widebody commercial airliner, often referred to by the nickname “Jumbo Jet”. It is among the world’s most recognizable aircraft,and was the first widebody ever produced. Manufactured by Boeing’s Commercial Airplane unit in the US, the original version of the 747 was two and a half times the size of the Boeing 707,one of the common large commercial aircraft of the 1960s. First flown commercially in 1970, the 747 held the passenger capacity record for 37 years.

Everything Boeing 747-8

The four-engine 747 uses a double deck configuration for part of its length. It was built in passenger, freighter and other versions. Boeing designed the 747’s hump-like upper deck to serve as a first class lounge or, as became the general rule, extra seating, and to allow the aircraft to be easily converted to a cargo carrier by removing seats and installing a front cargo door. Boeing did so because the company expected supersonic airliners, whose development was announced in the early 1960s, to render the 747 and other subsonic airliners obsolete, but that the demand for subsonic cargo aircraft would be robust into the future. The 747 in particular was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold but it exceeded its critics’ expectations with production passing the 1,000 mark in 1993.

The end of production

Boeing built 1,574 Boeing 747s over a 54-year production run at Everett, Washington. The last of them, a 747-8 Freighter registered N863GT, was handed over to Atlas Air on 31 January 2023, closing the line that had opened with the first 747-100 for Pan American in 1969.

Production ending is not the same as the type disappearing. Passenger 747s have largely gone from Western airlines — United and Delta retired theirs in 2017, and British Airways, KLM, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic all brought their retirements forward during the 2020 downturn — but a handful of carriers still fly them, Lufthansa operating by far the largest passenger fleet of 747-8s and 747-400s. The freighter remains the more durable story: the 747-8F and converted 747-400Fs still carry a substantial share of the world’s outsize air cargo, and Atlas Air, UPS, Cargolux and Kalitta continue to operate them.

The 747 also lives on in specialised roles. The Dreamlifter still ferries 787 assemblies between Boeing plants, and two new VC-25B presidential aircraft, based on the 747-8, are being converted to replace the ageing VC-25As — currently expected in service around 2028.

The 747-8 officially announced in 2005, the 747-8 is the fourth-generation Boeing 747 version, with lengthened fuselage, redesigned wings and improved efficiency. The 747-8 is the largest 747 version, the largest commercial aircraft built in the United States, and the longest passenger aircraft in the world.

The 747-8 is offered in two main variants: the 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8I) for passengers and the 747-8 Freighter (747-8F) for cargo. The first 747-8F performed the model’s maiden flight on February 8, 2010 with the 747-8 Intercontinental following on March 20, 2011.

Boeing once expected the 747 to be succeeded by the Y3, part of the Boeing Yellowstone Project, but no direct replacement was ever launched. Production ended in 2023.

Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental presented to the public on launch day — Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental launch day

Aerial view of seven British Airways Boeing 747s parked at their gates — British Airways 747s at the gate at Heathrow

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747-400 in blue livery — KLM Boeing 747-400

Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 747 on approach with landing gear down — Boeing 747-300 on approach

Japan Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-400F JA401J seen from below in flight — Japan Airlines Cargo 747-400F

Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400D showing wingtips without winglets — 747-400D, the Japanese domestic variant

Computer-generated image of a Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental — Lufthansa 747-8 Intercontinental (rendering)

SOFIA Boeing 747SP in flight above cloud in an early gold and white scheme with NASA and DLR tail markings — SOFIA in flight, in NASA and DLR markings

NASA SOFIA Boeing 747SP in flight over farmland — SOFIA airborne

SOFIA Boeing 747SP being towed out of its hangar by a tug, seen from the front — SOFIA under tow outside its hangar

United Airlines Boeing 747-100 taxiing in the airline's 1970s orange and blue striped livery — United Airlines Boeing 747-100

USAF Airborne Laser Boeing 747-400F with its nose-mounted laser turret — USAF Airborne Laser

Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser in flight over water, showing its nose laser turret — YAL-1A Airborne Laser

Boeing 747 Dreamlifter N780BA showing its enlarged bulged fuselage — Boeing 747 Dreamlifter

Boeing 747 Dreamlifter lifting off, showing its enlarged upper fuselage — Dreamlifter on takeoff

United States Air Force Boeing E-4B in flight over a city — Boeing E-4B airborne command post

Evergreen Boeing 747 Supertanker in flight over desert terrain — Evergreen 747 Supertanker

Boeing VC-25A 82-8000 in the blue and white presidential livery — Boeing VC-25A — Air Force One

Cutaway diagram showing the three-deck interior layout of the VC-25A Air Force One — Inside Air Force One

Bahrain Royal Flight Boeing 747SP banking in flight, showing its shortened fuselage — Bahrain Royal Flight 747SP

Rolls-Royce Boeing 747-200 test bed carrying a Trent 1000 engine on the inboard pylon — Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 flying test bed

Nippon Cargo Airlines Boeing 747-400F freighter — Nippon Cargo Airlines 747-400F

Diagram of the Boeing 747 Combi main deck with passenger seating forward and cargo pallets aft — Boeing 747 Combi layout

Concept artwork of a three-engined Boeing 747 with a tail-mounted centre engine — The unbuilt 747 trijet

General Electric Boeing 747-100 flying test bed N747GE with a test engine mounted inboard — General Electric's GEnx flying test bed

Diagram comparing the length of the Boeing 747-8 and the 747-400 — How much bigger the 747-8 is

Boeing 747-8 fuselage and wing during final assembly at the Everett factory — A 747-8 under construction at Everett

Thai Airways Cargo Boeing 747-400BCF freighter taxiing — Boeing 747-400BCF converted freighter

Scale diagram comparing the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A380 and Antonov An-225 — The 747-8 compared with the A380

Space Shuttle Atlantis mounted on the NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft — Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Atlantis

Space Shuttle Atlantis mounted on top of a NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft — Atlantis heads home on a modified 747

Space Shuttle Enterprise being lifted onto a NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft — Loading Enterprise onto the carrier

Space Shuttle Discovery atop the NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on its final ferry flight — Discovery's last flight

NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft seen from above in flight with a Space Shuttle orbiter on its back — Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in flight

Two NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft parked on a wet ramp at sunset — NASA's two Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-8 Freighter fitted with performance-improved GEnx-2B engines — 747-8F with improved GEnx-2B engines

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Frequently asked questions

How many Boeing 747s were built?: Boeing built 1,574 Boeing 747s between 1968 and 2023. The final aircraft, a 747-8 Freighter, was delivered to Atlas Air on 31 January 2023, ending a 54-year production run at Everett, Washington.
Are Boeing 747s still flying?: Yes. Production ended in 2023, but 747s remain in service. Freighters make up most of the active fleet, flown by carriers such as Atlas Air, UPS, Cargolux and Kalitta. Lufthansa operates the largest remaining passenger 747 fleet, alongside Korean Air and Air China.
How many variants of the Boeing 747 were built?: Boeing produced five main passenger generations — the 747-100, 747-200, 747-300, 747-400 and 747-8 — each with freighter, combi, short-range and extended-range sub-variants, alongside special-mission aircraft such as the VC-25 and Shuttle Carrier.