Boeing delivered the final plane to Atlas Air on Tuesday and marked the end of an era when the first-ever jumbo jet ruled the skies, as EVERETT: Boeing bid farewell to the iconic 747.
Thousands of Boeing employees including some of the so-called Incredibles who developed the jet in the 1960s watched the last delivery of the historic plane that brought air travel to the masses and represented an indelible slice of Americana.
John Travolta, who recounted learning to fly the 747 - 400 as ambassador for Qantas Airlines, was the highlight of the event at the mammoth manufacturing plant. Travolta said it was the toughest program that a commercial pilot will ever have to endure, because of the jet, the most well thought out and safest aircraft ever built. The 747, known as the Queen of the Skies, was the world's first twin-aisle jetliner, which Boeing designed and built in 28 months and Pan Am introduced in 1970.