THE Boeing 747 celebrated the 25th anniversary of its first revenue flight at the weekend, with the jumbo still holding claim to being the largest commercial aircraft in the world.
The first flight, on January 21, 1970, carried 324 passengers from New York to London.
The airline, Pan American World Airways, is now defunct. But the 747 is still much alive, with today's 747-400 model far different from its parent.
Adjusted for inflation, the Boeing group has delivered US$125 billion worth of 747s since the first went into service.
Sales to airlines outside the United States total nearly $102 billion, with nearly 93 per cent of all 747 sales in the past five years to customers overseas.
A total of 83 operators fly 1,046 of the 747s today, with orders still coming in, and more than 1.5 billion passengers have flown on the jumbo aircraft since Pan Am's first flight.