NEW YORK (CNN Business) — After 53 years and more than 1,570 planes, the last Boeing 747 is set to roll off the assembly line in Washington state, on its way to serve as a cargo plane.
The once-groundbreaking jumbo jet, with the distinctive second-floor bulge, is perhaps the most notable and popular plane Boeing has ever built. It was even big enough to be used to ferry the Space Shuttle from landing strips in California to its launch site in Florida. And it is set to launch a new type of spacecraft by Virgin Orbit as soon as next week, after carrying it aloft under its wing.
The 747 still serves as Air Force One, and two already-assembled planes are undergoing work right now to be transformed into the next generation of the presidential jet. Those planes won’t be delivered for at least four years due to delays.
Boeing had signaled in 2020 that it would stop building the 747, even in its freighter form, as customers bought either the more fuel-efficient 777 freighter or saved money by reconditioning former 747 passenger jets as freighters. It has not yet announced plans for the factory in Everett, Washington, where it has been building the 747, but it does expect to keep it open.