Boeing's 747 aircraft fleet: the original jumbo, overtaken by the 777

In Mar-2018 the Boeing 747 finally lost its crown as the world's most successful widebody aircraft by the number of deliveries, when it was overtaken by Boeing's 777.

The 747 made aviation history when it entered service with Pan Am in 1970 as the first ever twin aisle aircraft and the first commercial jet with two decks. The 747 was also the biggest commercial jet by seat capacity for 37 years from its entry into service until the Airbus A380 surpassed it in 2007.

It is testament to the 747's eminence that it is still in production 52 years after the first order in 1966, even if today's 747-8 variant shares little apart from outward appearance with its original 747-100 incarnation. It has outlasted many rival widebodies and production looks set to continue at least until 2022.

However, production is now focused mainly on the freighter version, and outstanding orders add up to only a fraction of the backlog for Boeing's 777 and 787 and Airbus' A350 and A330neo programmes. Jumbo the Elephant popularised the term 'jumbo' in the nineteenth century as a description of anything large. Today it is almost synonymous with the 747, underlining the iconic status of the only commercial jet with a popular nickname.