Boeing's 747 jumbo jet, an aircraft that democratized global air travel in the 1970s but fell behind modern twin-engine passenger jets, has bounced back from near death to mark its 50-year flying anniversary on Saturday, thanks to a cargo market boom fueled by online shopping, reports Reuters.
Boeing's "Queen of the Skies" is the world's most easily recognized jetliner with its humped fuselage and four engines. It is now enjoying a second, perhaps less glamorous life, as a cargo mule for companies like United Parcel Service Inc.
"It's an efficiency machine for us," said Jim Mayer, a spokesman for UPS, the world's largest package deliverer.
UPS ordered 14 more 747-8 freighters in 2018, a lifeline that helps ease doubts over the future of the jumbo, which looks set to outlive its European competitor, Airbus SE's A380.
Airbus is looking "extremely seriously" at closing its superjumbo A380 factories sooner than expected, Reuters reported in January, after Dubai's Emirates indicated it might switch its A380 orders to the smaller A350.
Unlike the 747, Europe's superjumbo does not have a freighter version to help absorb slack demand.
Boeing had said in 2016 it could end 747 production amid falling orders and pricing pressure. Major U.S. carriers like United Continental Holdings Inc and Delta Air Lines Inc have already said goodbye to the 747.
By keeping the 747 alive, Boeing avoids charges and layoffs for halting production at the mammoth wide-body plant outside Seattle.
It also shields newer programs like the 787 Dreamliner and the latest model of 777, which would have to bear a larger share of the plant's huge overhead if the 747 line went dark.
Still, the 747's extended lifespan could be tempered by U.S.-China trade tensions and concerns about a broader economic slowdown threatening freighter demand.