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We’ve always had something of a soft spot for the Boeing 747. It’s an aircraft that, we think, is second only to Concorde in terms of presence on the tarmac.
Whilst the Boeing 747 has started to fall out of favour with many carriers phasing it out in favour of either the more efficient quad-engine alternative, the Airbus A380, or the twin-engine Boeing 777, we will always remember the Boeing 747 as the first aircraft to take us on a transatlantic flight from London.
Newer aircraft may have better in cabin comfort, but only the Boeing 747 can offer the undisturbed cabin environment of the nose of the aircraft or its upper deck.
The Boeing 747 is an aircraft we expect most major airlines will have phased out entirely by the end of this decade, so it’s good to see that BBC2 is devoting an hour to tell the story of the Boeing 747 at 9pm on Thursday 27 February 2014 in “Jumbo: The Plane That Changed The World”. It’s an aircraft that deserves a fitting tribute.
And here’s how the BBC describes it:
The 747 was a game changer; the airliner that revolutionised mass, cheap air travel. But the first, wide-bodied plane was (originally) intended as a stopgap to Boeing’s now-abandoned supersonic jet. This is the remarkable, untold story of the jumbo, a billion-dollar gamble that pushed 1960s technology to the limits to create the world’s most recognisable plane.
Full programme information is also available on the BBC2 website. For viewers in the UK, the programme is on the BBC iPlayer until Thursday 6 March 2014.
