747

Boeing bet the company on the 747 in the mid-1960s. Joe Sutter's team designed the world's first widebody airliner, with a distinctive upper deck that was originally intended for cargo loading (Boeing expected supersonic transports to replace it for passengers). That humped fuselage became the most recognizable silhouette in aviation. The 747 carried 2.5 times more passengers than the 707, dramatically reducing the cost per seat and opening international travel to the middle class. For five decades, the 747 was the prestige aircraft of every major airline. Pan Am ordered the first 25; the last 747-8 was delivered to Atlas Air in 2023.