Boeing’s 747 assembly line is winding down. The aircraft manufacturer only has 12 orders left to fill. When the last jumbo rolls off the assembly line, it will mark the end of an era for an aircraft that’s spanned fifty-plus years. Production of the plane is expected to wrap up next year.

Boeing’s list of unfilled orders, current at March 31, confirms the 12 unfilled deliveries. According to Boeing, four Boeing 747-8Fs are going to Atlas Air, seven Boeing 747-8Fs are going to UPS, and a single 747-8 is going to an unidentified customer. //

So what do we know? Those four 747 freighters going to Atlas Air were only locked in three months ago. The New York-based global freight business already operates 53 Boeing 747s and will now take the final four Boeing builds. John Dietrich, President and CEO of Atlas Air, called the 747-8F the best and most versatile widebody freighter in the world. Mr Dietrich also thinks there will be demand for the big planes to fly freight for some time. //

Highspeeddirt
14 Apr

To paraphrase Lindbergh, four engines means twice as much to go wrong. You lose an engine on a three- or four-engine jet you still have to divert. I did an article for Av Week back in the day that revealed ETOPS twins had fewer turn backs and diversions than quads and tri-engine jetliners, backed by statistics. //

Hank
Dazza367
14 Apr

Sadly, Boeing isn't capable of developing anything anymore...at least not to a competitive cost and schedule.

There was a good article published by The Atlantic called “The Long Forgotten Flight that Sent Boeing Off Course” that explains this very well. There was a good article published by Forbes called "Boeing Will Pay High Price For McNerney's Mistake Of Treating Aviation Like It Was Any Other Industry" that explains this very well. There is also the famous 2009 "Bob Bogash Not Acceptable” discussion amongst Boeing retirees, including Program General Managers and VPs, that explains this very well.