American Airlines Boeing 747-100 Luxury Liner

Additional Information:

The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. In 1965, Joe Sutter left the Boeing 737 development program to design the 747. In April 1966, Pan Am became the first customer by ordering 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft. In late 1966, Pratt & Whitney agreed to develop the JT9D engine, a high-bypass turbofan for the 747. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the custom-built Everett Plant, the world’s largest building by volume. The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December of that same year. It entered service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970. The 747 was the first airplane to be called a “Jumbo Jet” as the first wide-body airliner.

American Airlines is a United States legacy airline established in 1930 and currently based in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline began with a southern transcontinental route across the U. S. and has since built major hubs at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. American inaugurated service to Albuquerque on January 20, 1979 with one daily flight to DFW and one to San Francisco, both with Boeing 727 aircraft. American merged with Trans World Airlines (TWA) in late 2001 and four flights per day from Albuquerque to TWA’s hub at St. Louis were added.

In 2011, due to a downturn in the airline industry, American Airlines’ parent company, the AMR Corporation, filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2013, American Airlines merged with US Airways but kept the American Airlines name, as it was the better-recognized brand internationally. The combination of the two airlines resulted in the creation of the largest airline in the United States, and ultimately the world.

An American Airlines Boeing 747-100, N9663, on a transcontinental flight experienced an engine fire warning light. A precautionary landing was made at Albuquerque and it was determined that the aircraft had a malfunction in a fire detector. This was the first Boeing 747 to land at the Albuquerque Sunport.

GALLERY: