How Does Boeing 747 Affect Society

Boeing 747 People tend to take for granted of the technological advancements in today’s society. For every new object released in today there is a story of how it got there. Nowadays to travel long distance, such as going cross country or to Europe people are going to need to fly. In 1969 Boeing introduced to the world the biggest airplane at the time. This airplane is called the Boeing 747 and is the reason why people tend to travel comfortably to Europe and other far places. When the Boeing 747 was first introduced it had an immediate impact on society and it still influences our society today. Some of the immediate impacts were that it allowed more people to travel and it reduced airport traffic. Some future impacts it had were paving the way for future models and the creation of thousands of jobs. Before the 747 model came around Boeing had been creating 707 models. This model made its first flight on December 20, 1957 (Durson). This jet was able to accommodate up to 181 passengers and travel a range of 4800 kilometers. The wingspans on this jet were 130 feet 10 inches while its length was 144 feet 6 inches (Historical). This was not the first jet to be used commercially by airlines but it is recognized as being the first successful commercial jet, also credited being the jet that ushered
in the jet age (Durson). As the 707 model was every successful, Pan Am believed a way to solve passenger congestions in airports were bigger planes (Durson). They brought this idea up to Boeing. Boeing came up with the model 747. This aircraft was 2.5 times bigger than the 707 model and it was the world’s first wide-body aircraft (Durson). A wide body aircraft is an aircraft that is wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles. Technically being able to hold about 7 or more people per aisle. Due to its size, it garnered the nickname “jumbo jet.” This jumbo jet had a distinctive feature of having an upper deck where the cockpit would be and first class as well (Durson). This aircraft was able to hold up 490 passengers and travel about 9600 kilometers. This plane was so big that pilots were trained how to drive this by driving three stories high on a moving jet (Durson). The size of this aircraft is what makes this model unique and important in the history of airplanes. An impact of the Boeing 747 was that it allowed more people to travel. The aircrafts were so big it was able to hold 374 to 490 passengers (Durson). Due to the airplane being so big it was able to sell seats at cheaper prices than before. Some original models had 260 economy seats, which meant it gave over 200 people per flight an opportunity to fly at an affordable price than ever before (Durson). “A round-trip coach ticket between New York and Los Angeles was $208 in 1958, according to the Air Transport Association. You can still sometimes find a $208 ticket today, but that 1958 price is $1,570 in today's dollars (McCartney).” This shows how much a flight was before the creation of the Boeing 747. After the creation of this model studies done by Air Transport Association had shown that the average cost per mile was 8.42 cents which is equivalent to 30 cents today (McCartney). This means that the flights were cheaper after the fact and there were more available seats. More people were also enticed to fly now due to the fact that the airplane travelled faster than any of the previous models. This is one immediate recognizable impact it had on society in 1969 when this model was first shown. Another impact by the ‘Queen of the Skies’ was that it reduced airport traffic because previous models will hold up to 181 passengers and this model actually being 2.5 times bigger than the Boeing 707 (Durson). Pan Am’s founder Juan Trippe, pushed Boeing to build a jet twice as big as the 707 model because airport traffic was becoming congested and if there were fewer but larger planes it would help Pan Am operate more efficiently. To effectively fit all these new aircrafts and reduce airport traffic the US passed the Airport and Airways Development Act (Wells). The Airport and Airways Development Act was passed in 1970 to help and expand and improve the airport and airway system over a 10-year-period (Wells). The passing of this act helped not only reduced airport traffic it allowed the creation of many 747 models. After Pan Am had recently spent $525 million on 25 planes in 1966, this really helped them land this massive aircraft in many locations. This is almost $4 billion in 2016 dollars (Roberts). Boeing 747 triggered the change in airport traffic, reducing the number of airplanes on a runway, but it also made runways bigger for them to contain these huge aircrafts. The Boeing 747 didn’t only have one model it had various planes in this series. Starting with the 747-100 series all the way to the latest and probably last model the 747-800. The 200 model in the series was made to be a freighter containing more powerful engines and travel farther. This model had a 9 percent larger fuel capacity than the previous model (Boeing 747). The 300 model didn’t have much impact in this series all that made it unique was its larger upper deck, led to being able to hold 580 passengers. The 400 model is considered to be the most popular model of the series. It was introduced in 1989 and its still in production today. This model had several variations that include 400D (domestic), 400ER (Extended Range), 400F (freighter) and 400ERF (extended range freighter) with the 400 model being able to transport 660 passengers over 14000 kilometers (Boeing 747). The latest model the 747-800 made its maiden flight in February 2010 (Boeing 747). This version travels slightly further at 14,800 kilometers, but what makes this model successful is the fact that it has improved engines that make it quieter and more efficient than the 400 model. All these models and improvement in air travel wouldn’t have happened if the pioneer model of the 400 series hadn’t been created. The creation of the model 747 saved Boeing from going bankrupt and now Boeing was able to make the model 787 Dreamliner. This model made its first flight on December 15, 2009. This model is able to carry up to 280 passengers over 15500 kilometers (Boeing 787). This model uses some of the features seen in the model 747 such as being a wide-body aircraft (Boeing 787). The 787 is smaller than the 747, however its main objective was to be made to be fuel efficient. Even with advancements the 747 is still one of the biggest aircrafts ever created. Many models created today still get compared to the 747 model. With all these planes being created it needs workers to make them all. At the time in 1969, the baby boomers’ generation was reaching the workforce. They were entering the workforce and replacing the older generation, but after a while there wasn’t much openings available. Almost to solve this problem, Boeing opens a factory in Everett, Washington. Boeing needed a large area to build these jumbo jets and this open area was the place to do it. Today Boeing’s Everett site is recognized as having the largest manufacturing building in the world (Everett). This factory contains over 30,000 workers and it has its own fire department, security team and a day care center (Everett). All these jobs were available and that doesn’t even include all the workers they needed to hire at the time to build this great complex. With the need of needing a large area to build the 747 model Boeing had to build a place for this project. To build the place they needed many workers and once it was built it needed thousands of people to work in the assembly to build this jumbo jet. The 747 helped the economy by creating thousands of jobs. Seeing the evolution of planes from 1969 to now, it was helped allow people to travel to places they could only have dreamed about originally.
The Boeing 747 allowed more people to travel and at cheaper rates while also being the catalyst in making airports bigger. The ‘Queen of the Skies’ has also helped create thousands of jobs by being responsible of the creating of one of the biggest manufacturing buildings in the world. The Boeing 747 has helped allow people travel the world and shape society in our ability to travel the world with comfort. When this aircraft was first made, it was originally pushed to reduce airport traffic, but it has reshaped the way we travel
today.