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| Our ride to London |
For travelers of a certain generation (that’d be ours) the Boeing 747 is a symbol of the modern, globally-connected world. We remember when it debuted in 1970, and it was a big deal: a source of American commercial pride as the Vietnam war raged and oil crises began. What made it so unique and novel was not its 4 engines (the 707 before it had that distinction) or even its intercontinental range (several aircraft models were in regular transoceanic service in 1970). What made the 747 unique was its passenger capacity, a mind-blowing (at the time) 400+, which would only be exceeded by the Airbus A380 some 37 years later.
That seating capacity, coupled with its improvements to range and efficiency, made it a huge commercial success for certain transportation markets, namely transoceanic routes for cargo and passengers alike. The 747 brought global travel to more and more people by increasing capacity for continent-hopping travelers, the supply of seats bringing fares down, and though such flights were increasingly more common and affordable, it was still vogue to be caught on a 747. Yet, for some reason, as much as we’ve traveled (a lot more than most, a lot less than some) we’ve never flown on a 747 until now.
With that distinctive, graceful hump, the 747 is still impressive in her 40’s.
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| On Our Way! |
