Jonathan Drake / Bloomberg NewsWater vapor condenses on the wings of an Air Force F-15, as the Boeing supersonic jet soars at an air show.
APBoeing in 1971 was named prime contractor for the new airborne warning and control system airplane, shown in a rendering, an eight-engine radar-mounted version of the Boeing 707.
APIn 1958, the Boeing 707 went into service on a passenger flight from New York to Paris, ushering in the Jet Age.
Jerry Lampen / AFP/Getty ImagesA Boeing C-17 of the Australian air force stands at the Eindhoven Airbase in the Netherlands on July 22, 2014.
Adrian Dennis / AFP/Getty ImagesA Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, a twin-engine, supersonic fighter jet, takes part in a flying display at the Farnborough Airshow, southwest of London, on July 12, 2016.
Ted S. Warren / APA World War II-era Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress airplane is parked at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Monday, June 6, 2016, on the anniversary of D-Day. The plane, nicknamed "Aluminum Overcast," is operated by the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Max Desfor / APThe "Enola Gay" Boeing B-29 Superfortress lands Aug. 6, 1945, at Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, after dropping an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Associated PressThousands of employees and guests surround the first Boeing 747 wide-body jetliner shortly after its rollout at Boeing's Everett, Wash., plant Sept. 30, 1968. The new jumbo jet was the world's largest commercial jetliner at the time.
Francine Orr / Los Angeles TimesAir Force One -- a modified Boeing 747 -- sits at Los Angeles International Airport after bringing President Obama to town in 2011.
Ted S. Warren / APEdmonds, Wash., is seen through the front gun turret of a World War II-era Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress airplane June 6, 2016, during a flight north of Seattle on the anniversary of D-Day.
Gail Hanusa / BoeingA Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental takes off for delivery to Germany's Lufthansa airline.
Chicago TribuneThe Boeing 707 airliner, which flew coast to coast March 13, 1957, in less than four hours, is shown in the process of takeoff from O'Hare Field in Chicago.
APBoeing 767s under construction in Everett, Wash., in 1981.
Jason Redmond / AFP/Getty ImagesBoeing's first 737 Max named the "Spirit of Renton," parked on the tarmac Dec. 8, 2015, at the Boeing factory in Renton, Wash.
Erin Hooley / Chicago TribuneA Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey helicopter lands near Air Force One at O'Hare International Airport on April 7, 2016, in Chicago.
Associated PressThis January 1970 photo shows a Pan Am Boeing 747 dwarfing a smaller jet.
Christopher Furlong / Getty ImagesThe new Boeing Dreamliner 787 fitted with Rolls Royce engines sits on the tarmac at Manchester Airport during its tour of the world April 24, 2012, in Manchester, England. The 787 is made of composite materials and uses 20 percent less fuel than equivalent aircraft.
Associated PressIn this undated photo, Boeing 747 jumbo jets nearing completion are lined up at the company's plant at Everett, Wash. For decades, the Boeing's 747 was the Queen of the Skies. But the glamorous double-decker jumbo jet that revolutionized air travel and shrunk the globe could be nearing the end of the line.
AP 1977The 30-foot-diameter dish perched on this $45 million Boeing jet was filled with radar equipment to give military commanders a precise electronic view of friendly and enemy aircraft in case of war.
APA Boeing cruise missile at rollout ceremonies in Seattle in 1979.
APThe first model 747F freighter, a Lufthansa plane, was rolled out from the Everett, Wash., plant after a ceremony from the plane's nose in 1971. The nose of the 775,000-pound freighter swings up to permit straight-in cargo loading.
Heather Charles / Chicago TribuneArmy veteran Gil Heinrich, 87, a resident of the Covenant Village of Northbrook retirement community, flies with Darryl Fisher of Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation in a 1942 Boeing Stearman World War II-era biplane at the Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling on Sept. 2, 2013.
Associated PressThe crew of a Pan Am Boeing 747 that had just completed the first transatlantic crossing by a jumbo jet pose in front the nose of the plane after it landed at London's Heathrow Airport on Jan. 12, 1970.
Associated PressA crowd gathers at London's Heathrow Airport after a Pan Am Boeing 747 arrived from New York on Jan. 12, 1970. The 360-seat jet was the first of its kind to complete a transatlantic crossing.
Ted S. Warren / APA World War II-era Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress banks in the air as it comes in for a landing June 6, 2016, in Seattle on the anniversary of D-Day. The plane, nicknamed "Aluminum Overcast," is operated by the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Associated PressA coach lounge aboard a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
APWorkers make progress on a 747 on Oct. 1, 1978, at Boeing's Everett, Wash., plant.
Brandon Wade / Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCTBoeing's 787 Dreamliner lands at Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 11, 2012.
Bryan Chan / Los Angeles TimesThe retired space shuttle Endeavour is lifted off a NASA Boeing 747 transport plane at Los Angeles International Airport on its way to its final destination at the California Science Center on Sept. 22, 2012.
Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty ImagesThe restored Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress airplane used to drop the first atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, on Hiroshima, Japan, is seen on display March 25, 2006, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.
AP photoThe Boeing 747 production line in Everett, Wash., in 1991.
Lindsey Wasson / Chicago TribuneSeveral 777 series jets sit in various stages of production on a bustling floor at Boeing's Everett, Wash., factory, the world's largest building by volume, on April 24, 2013.
APNewlyweds Mr. and Mrs. William Garthed of Marietta, Ga., spend part of their honeymoon in 1944 working on B-29s. They were both 4 feet, 5 inches tall.
Laura Leon / APA U.S. Marine aims his weapon near a Boeing V-22 Osprey, during a bilateral training exercise coinciding with a visit of the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter at Moron Airbase, near Seville, Spain, on Oct. 6, 2015.
Getty ImagesThree Boeing Flying Fortress B-17s nosed around a 'Ten Grand' sign — signifying the assembly of the 10,000th B-17 bomber following the U.S. joining World War II — on Oct. 9, 1944, in Long Beach, Calif.
APA 1937 drawing of the four-engine commercial plane being built at Boeing's Seattle plant for Transcontinental and Western Air's cross-country service. The plane was an adaptation of the Boeing 299 bomber built for the U.S. Army. It was designed to carry a payload (revenue-producing) of 5,200 pounds, with a maximum range of 1,400 miles, and be capable of reaching 250 mph and carrying 32 passengers.
Jonathan Drake / Bloomberg News
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Water vapor condenses on the wings of an Air Force F-15, as the Boeing supersonic jet soars at an air show.
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Boeing signaled in a regulatory filing Wednesday that it might soon end production of its iconic 747. The double-deck jet — known as the Queen of the Skies — revolutionized air travel by making it more affordable for the masses. The giant jet once stood alone, with more seats than any other jet and a range of 6,000 miles, longer than any other plane.
But its four engines and massive size are now seen as negatives — it burns too much fuel and airlines struggle to fill flights with 400 or more passengers. Slowing freight traffic has meant few orders for the cargo version of the plane.
“If we are unable to obtain sufficient orders and/or market, production and other risks cannot be mitigated, we could record additional losses that may be material, and it is reasonably possible that we could decide to end production of the 747,” Boeing said in the filing Wednesday.
No timetable was set, but Boeing needs to keep the manufacturing line open for the next few years in order to fulfill orders, including for two replacement jets for Air Force One, the presidential plane.
Associated Press
