http://www.boeing.com/commercial/747family/
The
Boeing 747, often referred to by the nickname
"Jumbo Jet",
[5][6] is among the world's most recognizable
aircraft,
[7] and was the first
wide-body commercial
airliner ever produced.
Manufactured by
Boeing's Commercial Airplane unit in the United States, the original version of the 747 was two and a half times the size of the
Boeing 707,
[8] one of the common large commercial aircraft of the 1960s. First flown commercially in 1970, it held the passenger capacity record for 37 years, until it was surpassed by the
Airbus A380.
The four-engine 747 uses a
double deck configuration for part of its length. It is available in passenger, freighter and other versions. The 747's hump created by the upper deck allows for a front cargo door on freighter versions, and serves as additional seating in most versions. The
747-400, the latest version in service, is among the fastest airliners in service with a high-subsonic cruise speed of
Mach 0.85 (567 mph or 913 km/h). It has an intercontinental range of 7,260
nautical miles (8,350 mi or 13,450 km).
[9] The 747-400 passenger version can accommodate 416 passengers in a typical
three-class layout or 524 passengers in a typical two-class layout.
The 747 was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold because of the development of
supersonic airliners,
[10] but it exceeded its critics' expectations with production passing the 1,000 mark in 1993.
[11] As of April 2008, 1,402 aircraft had been built, with 122 more in various configurations on order.
[2] The latest version of the aircraft, the
747-8, is scheduled to enter service in 2009.
[12]