Carrying more than twice the passengers than the 189-seat 707, the 400-seat 747 offered dramatically lower seat-mile costs and therefore much greater efficiency.
Designed originally for Pan American to replace the 707, the giant Boeing 747 revolutionized long-distance air travel when it entered service in 1970. Carrying more than twice the passengers than the 189-seat 707, the 400-seat 747 offered dramatically lower seat-mile costs and therefore much greater efficiency. Propelled by four powerful and efficient high-bypass turbofan engines, the so-called "Jumbo Jet" spawned a new generation of wide-body airliners from Airbus, Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, and later Boeing.