The Boeing 747 is celebrating its 55th anniversary since its first revenue-generating flight (with Pan Am ). It's been five years since Simple Flying looked back on the Jumbo's then-50-year long history . On 30 September 1968, the first 747 rolled out of its Everett Plant in Washington State.
The Boeing 747 first flew on 9 February 1969, and it entered service on 22 January 1970. Now 55 years later, as the sun continues to set on the Jumbo, only three airlines around the world operate scheduled passenger flights with the 747 (more operate cargo variants). While the Boeing 747 is seen as a crowning achievement of American aviation engineering, no US-based airlines operate it as a commercial scheduled passenger aircraft anymore.
The Boeing 747's first commercial flight with 'Clipper Victor' The Queen of the Skies launch customer was Pan Am, and the aircraft ushered in another golden age for the legendary airline. Pan Am launched its first Boeing 747-100 flight with the call-sign Flight PA2 (registered N736PA). Clipper Victor flew from New York JFK Airport to London Heathrow Airport (this first commercial flight was a little less than smooth flying on account of turbulence en route).
This wasn't actually the first time the Boeing 747 had flown the transatlantic route. According to Airways Magazine , Pan Am had already completed a proving flight from New York to London on January 12 (however, this was not a revenue-generating flight). The 747-100 to complete the flight (called 'C.