The last Boeing 747 rolls off the assembly line: “It’s not just another plane”

The Boeing 747 once carried the space shuttle and is credited with making air travel more accessible to the general public. Now, more than five decades later, the last brand new 747 has been built.

Among those who paid tribute to the aircraft was actor John Travolta, who attended a Boeing 747 ceremony last week in Everett, Washington.

“As a pilot, I know how great it is to fly this plane,” Travolta said. “There’s nothing better than seeing a Boeing 747 take off to remind you that there’s magic here, too.”

Chris Van Cleve of CBS News visited Boeing’s Everett plant while the plane was in its final assembly phase, just days before it rolled off the assembly line, made its first test flight and was covered in approximately 120 gallons of paint.

Sherry Mui has been building 747s for the last 15 years, her father started on the same line 43 years ago.

“Every time you finish a job, you know it will be the last time you do it. “What I love most about the Boeing 747 is that it is so iconic that you see it in the sky, you see it at the airport and you know exactly what it is. And knowing this is a great pride, hey, yeah. I helped build it.”

“This is not just another plane,” Mui told Van Cleve.

The Boeing 747 was the world’s first large jet aircraft. Twice as many as any other airliner when it first flew in 1969. A year later, Pan-Am welcomed the first passengers on board.

With its spiral staircase, first-class interior and iconic humpback, it was an instant hit.

“This plane marks a point in history, the first time any person on planet Earth was able to get on a plane and fly,” Boeing historian Michael Lombardi told Van Cleve.

“It democratized air travel,” Van Cleve said.

Lombardi agreed.

“Because of its size, its range, its economy. Now the flight was affordable.”

In more than 118 million flight hours, four Boeing 747 engines have carried millions of passengers, six US presidents and even the space shuttle around the country and around the world.

With 1,574 747s built, this marks the end of the Sky Queen’s lineup at Boeing. But for the thousands of people at the Everett factory who work on the aircraft, this really marks the beginning of a new chapter. All of them are moving to new jobs on other lines, building new planes that will fly for decades.

While these new more fuel efficient aircraft bring the end to this queen’s reign, especially as a passenger aircraft, the latest 747 cargo aircraft will likely deliver goods for years to come.

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