With the stroke of a pen, the production life of the Boeing 747-400 passenger jet came to an abrupt end last week, but its hardly the end of the line for the aircraft family that started the jumbo movement in 1969. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Boeing technically had four more -400s to build but it appears Philippine Airlines changed its order and asked for 777s instead. That brought the 747-400 line symbolically to an end (about 450 were delivered), but there are dozens and perhaps hundreds of other types of 747s on the order books that will keep the folks in Washington state busy for years to come. Boeing still has 36 747-400 freighters to build while it develops the 747-8, a modernized version of the jumbojet that uses a new wing and the efficient engines developed for the 787 Dreamliner. There are about 60 orders for the freight version of the 747-8 and Lufthansa has placed an order for 20 passenger versions, called the Intercontinental, which will seat 466 people.
