U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing has said it could stop producing its iconic 747 jet. According to a regulatory filing by the company, the end of the jumbo jet era can be attributed to reduced orders and increased pressure on its costings.
Production rate of the 747 has fallen from an average of 1.5 planes per month in June 2015 to one jet per month in July 2016, marking a bad future for the aircraft manufacturer, Reuters reported. The Chicago-headquartered firm has already cancelled plans to increase production of the 747 to one plane from 2019, and stuck to its earlier plan of halving the production rate in Sept. 2016.
Boeing had last week said it is planning to take about $3 billion of pretax charges related to the 787, 747 and other aircraft programs. The latest version of the wide-bodied jet is capable of flying across three FIFA football fields in one second. The Boeing 747 is also used by United States President Barack Obama whose official jet, the Air Force One, is an alternative form of the 747.
At present, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and Air China, among some others, are customers of the Boeing jumbo jet.
The aerospace and defence company said on Wednesday that positive faring of its jetliner and defence business helped it record a less-than-expected second quarterly loss. "Boeing still faces a tough environment with increasing competition," Jeff Windau, an analyst, was quoted as saying by the news agency in a separate report.
The iconic Boeing 747 jetliner or jumbo jet has a hump right in the beginning, which makes it very recognisable. According to reports, this was the first wide-bodied jet built by the aerospace firm. The hump was originally planned to give extra seating but was later used for the business, premium class.
Watch the video of a Lufthansa Boeing 747 here:
