![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: World | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
![]() |
Tuesday, 31 October, 2000, 22:48 GMT
Boeing's workhorse
![]() A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747
American aircraft manufacturer Boeing launched its 747 programme, which revolutionised air travel, in 1966.
An order from Pan American World Airways set the ball rolling. The 747 entered commercial service in 1970, and since then the worldwide fleet has flown more than 2.2 billion people. Several different models were introduced in successive years - the 100, 200 and 300 versions - but the 747-400 model was introduced only at the end of the 1980s. The redeveloped 747-400 is the best-selling member of the 747 family and is currently the only model in production. Boeing says it is developing a new family of 747 derivatives for the 21st Century, which will go into production if customer demand and market requirements warrant it. Singapore's fleet Singapore Airlines is one of the world's largest operator of 747-400s, with 45 currently in operation. The airline says that the 747-400 which crashed in Taipei was manufactured in January 1997. It underwent its last maintenance check on 16 September 2000, when no defects were found, the airline says.
Accidents Boeing 747s have been involved in four recent accidents.
|
![]() |
Top World stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more World stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more World stories
|
![]() |
![]() |
^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |