Today, many people remember the Boeing 747-300 for being the least successful of all the 747s which follow the 747-XXX designation. So what made it so different from the other 747s, that made it so unsuccessful?
When the 747-300 was introduced in 1983, it was by far the largest passenger jet of its time. It would remain as this until the 747-400 was introduced in February 1989.
Chances are that if you flew on a 747 in the mid-1980’s, it was probably a 747-300!
Pre-Boeing 747-300
During WWII, both the British and the Germans had invented their own jet engines. Beyond just inventing their own jet engine, the British had also developed their own jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor.
Following the war, jet engine technology had progressed, and both east and west had their own fighters. However, airlines were still operating piston and turboprop airliners, not jets.
Naturally, they too wanted their own jets, which were more reliable and cheaper to operate. This led to early jet airliners such as the Convair 880, BAC 1-11, de Havilland Comet, 707 and DC-8.
By the mid-1960’s, Pan Am’s Juan Trippe had approached Boeing President, Bill Allen, for a larger jet, which had in turn led to the introduction of the first 747, the 747-100, in 1970.
Over the course of the 1970’s, Boeing would introduce another 747 variant, the 747-200, which would also become quite popular. However, by the late 1970’s, the 747-200 had become old, and airlines wanted a better 747…
Development
You see, the 1970’s had seen two major oil crises, one in the early 1970’s, and the second in the late 1970’s. This affected pretty much every industry, but hurt the airline industry particularly badly.
This had seen hundreds of orders for Boeing jets be cancelled, and thousands of Boeing employees laid off. However, by 1979, both airlines and Boeing had begun to recover.
Airlines demanded a newer 747, one that was slightly larger, and more economical per seat. So Boeing obliged, sitting down with the heads of several major airlines to make this happen.
In the end, Boeing found that most airlines wanted a 747 with a longer top deck, a straight internal stairway (rather than the previously used spiral stairway) and newer engines.
To start with, Boeing engineers worked on lengthening the top deck, which was the most difficult thing to do, from an engineering point-of-view.
Secondly, Boeing engineers would redesign the internal stairway, which allowed airlines to place more seating on both the upper and lower decks.
Boeing would also contract General Electric to develop a more fuel efficient variant of its CF6 family, which had also been used on later variants of the 747-200.
By March 1980, Boeing had a working prototype, which was offered to a number of airlines. Swissair showed the most interest, and placed an order for the jet in June 1980, becoming the type’s launch customer.
Operational History
Following the Boeing 747-300’s first flight on October 5 1982, it would soon be entered into service with Swissair in March the following year. From here, the jet would have a rather interesting service history.
Passenger
Whilst Swissair was the launch customer of the Boeing 747-300, a number of other airlines would soon place their own orders for the jet. Boeing would fulfill these orders over the course of the 1980’s.
For the most part, these jets would serve on high demand international routes. Oftentimes, these 747-300s would replace older 747-100 and 747-200s (usually the latter), which would go onto serve medium-demand routes.
Most commonly, the Boeing 747-300 would serve as its operator’s flagship, this was mostly due to the opulence and sheer size of the 747-300, which often afforded the -300’s operators a certain level of prestige.
Boeing would deliver the final 747-300 to Sabena in 1990. By the early 2000’s, the 747-300 had become too expensive for most major airlines to operate, with them slowly retiring the jet over the course of the 2000’s.
The last major airline to operate the 747-300 in this capacity was Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) who retired the jet in July 2015, after over 30 years of service.
With that being said, you could still technically fly on the 747-300. As of the time of writing, one 747-300 is operated by Iran’s Mahan Air. In this capacity, it serves on international routes, alongside the airline’s one 747-400.
Cargo
Much like the 747-100, the 747-300 did not have a factory-made cargo derivative. However, this fact has not stopped cargo airlines from operating large fleets of 747-300s as cargo aircraft, but quite the opposite in fact!
In 2000, a number of cargo airlines began buying used 747-300s from airlines that had declared bankruptcy. Here, these airlines sent the jet to Boeing, who’d reconfigure the jet for cargo flights.
Surprisingly, a number of major passenger airlines would also send their ageing 747-300s to Boeing to be reconfigured as cargo aircraft too!
Unlike other converted cargo aircraft, these newly converted cargo 747-300s would retain their previous designations (either Boeing 747-300, 747-300M or 747-300SP) rather than Boeing redesignating these jets entirely.
Typically, these 747-300 cargo aircraft would transport high-volumes of small and mid-sized cargo on long-haul routes. Most commonly, these 747-300s would be used on transpacific and more commonly, transatlantic routes.
With that being said, over the course of the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, most cargo airlines began to retire their Boeing 747-300 fleets in favor of newer, larger and more economical 747-400s.
To date, there is only one 747-300 which still operates regularly scheduled cargo flights. This 747-300 flies for Belarus’ TransAVIAexport Airlines, with the jet having replaced the airline’s two 747-200s.
Charter
Although the majority of airlines sold their Boeing 747-300s to cargo airlines, not all did. Some, chose to sell them to another kind of airline: The charter airline.
In this capacity, the 747-300s were both passenger and cargo aircraft, with their routes and cargo differing based on the time of year, namely, whether it was the on or the off-season for passenger airlines.
During the on-season, charter airlines would be configured for passenger operations. Here, they would fly on high-demand routes, offering lower prices, which allowed them to undercut the established airlines.
However, during the off-season, charter airlines would remove the passenger interior and install a cargo one. Here, they would haul large amounts of cargo on long-haul routes, often transcontinental and international routes.
This business plan allowed charter airlines to operate older, more expensive jets, and still make large profits!
Over time, a select few charter airlines began to shift away from this business plan. Instead, they began serving as private contractors, usually cargo operations when using the Boeing 747-300.
Assuming you had the money (and wanted to for whatever reason!) you could actually still do this today! Naturally, it is quite expensive, so these jets only fly a few times per month.
Private Jet
However, not all airlines sold their 747-300s to charter and cargo airlines. A few airlines believed that whilst the 747-300 was too expensive to operate at the time they retired them, they may one day need to operate them again.
As such, a number of them were stored in the world’s various aircraft graveyards. With this, however, they were never pulled out of retirement, and have just sat there, waiting for someone to give them a second chance.
At the same time, a number of governments and corporations have come to want their own private/corporate jets. For many of these entities, regular jets like Gulfstreams, Learjets and Bombardiers aren’t opulent enough.
Instead, they want airliners. Currently, both Boeing and Airbus offer business jet versions of their commercial airliners, but they’re really expensive, and often aren’t as customizable as these entities would like.
So, they’ve simply bought these 747-300s, given them a series of upgrades, revamped the interior, and have begun using them as their own private/corporate jet!
Whilst there are quite a few flying today, most have anonymous owners. With that being said, however, the Saudi government do operate one 747-300 as a VIP transport, making it one of the most expensive private jets in the air!
However, the Saudi government is currently looking to retire this jet in favor of a jet that’s more economical, as their Boeing 747-300 is currently the oldest and most expensive to operate jet in their fleet.
Static Display
As of the time of writing, there are a number of deals pending between airlines and aviation museums, to acquire 747-300s. However, none of these deals have been finalized yet, with only two 747-300s being on static display.
The most famous Boeing 747-300 on static display is located at Melbourne Avalon Airport, in Australia. Here, one 747-300 serves as in a number of capacities for the airport, primarily, as a training aircraft for the airport’s security.
Another role it often serves is as a film prop. Here, both the interior and exterior are used by filmmakers, with the 747-300’s interior being the more common of the two.
In particular, the jet is most commonly used in music videos. Here, it is usually used with aviation-related lyrics (usually poking fun at how bad economy class is!)
Whilst not technically a museum exhibit, there is also one other retired 747-300 which is on “display”. This is at Jinnah International Airport, in Karachi Airport. Unlike the 747-300 in Australia, this one isn’t used for films.
Instead, this 747-300 is used as a restaurant for Jinnah Airport’s terminal security. As such, it is rather difficult to avgeeks to see, with you only being able to see it from certain areas within the airport terminals themselves!
Specifications
The Boeing 747-300 was developed from the 747-200, itself developed from the 747-100. As a result, the 747-300 shares a lot in common (in terms of specs) with both jets it was developed from.
In turn, the 747-300 was also later developed into the 747-400, which was later developed into the 747-8. So naturally, the 747-300 will also share a number of specs with those jets too…
| Specifications | Boeing 747-300 |
|---|---|
| Length | 231 ft 10 in (70.66 m) |
| Wingspan | 195 ft 8 in (59.6 m) |
| Height | 63 ft 4 in (19.3 m) |
| Crew | 3 |
| Passengers | 400 – 550 |
| Cruising Speed | Mach 0.8 (907 km/h; 564 mph; 490 kn) |
| Range | 11,720 km (7,284 mi; 6,330 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 45,100 ft (13,700 m) |
| MTOW | 833,000 lb (377,800 kg) |
Why Was The Boeing 747-300 Such a Failure?
Today, the 747 is often quoted as being one of the most popular commercial airliners to have ever flown. In total, the family has sold well over 1,500 times, with most variants having sold well over 200 times (often much, much more!)
However, if you look at which which 747 variants sold best and worst, you’ll find that the two worst-selling 747s are the Boeing 747SP (which sold 45 times) and the Boeing 747-300 (which sold 81 times).
In fact, within two years of offering the 747-300, Boeing stopped taking orders for the jet, instead opening orders for the newer 747-400 within a few years. So this begs the question, why did the 747-300 fail so drastically?
For many airlines, it ultimately came down to price.
Whilst they appreciated the developments Boeing made, they weren’t enough to justify the $82 million ($223 million today) price tag, compared to the $66 million ($165.5 million) for a brand-new 747-200.
Other airlines simply didn’t want “just another” 747. Instead, they wanted one that actually cut down costs, by incorporating new technologies, in particular: All-glass cockpits (which got rid of the costly flight engineer role!)
There was also the fact that most airlines didn’t “need” a 747. By the time the 747-300 had been introduced, the 747 had been in service for almost 12 years. By this time, most airlines that needed a 747, had bought one.
So for many airlines, it seemed rather pointless to buy a Boeing 747-300. After all, why buy a multimillion dollar 747-300 to replace a 747-100 or 747-200 that is less than a decade old? It simply didn’t make sense.
On top of this, many airline executives at the time didn’t see the 747-300 as an improvement on the 747-200, but rather a “refreshed” 747-200. Essentially, Boeing did the bare minimum and expected to make billions from it!
Alas, this did not happen, and Boeing ended up losing tens of billions of dollars because of the jet.
How Safe Was The Boeing 747-300?
For better or for worse, Boeing aircraft have seemingly gotten a rather bad reputation in recent years. To many, the highly publicized 737 MAX debacle have made it seem like all Boeing jets are extremely dangerous.
Whilst there are a number of Boeing jets that are dangerous, there are just as many that aren’t. Perhaps the safest Boeing jet is the 747 family, which is routinely named as one of the safest aircraft to fly on!
However, looking back at some of the older 747s, particularly the 747-100 and 747-200, you’ll find that they’re more dangerous than the newer 747-400s and 747-8s. So this begs the question: Which is the Boeing 747-300 more like?
The answer would be the 747-400 and 747-8. Of 81 747-300s built, only two were ever involved in any form of aviation-related accident. This makes it one of the safer 747s to fly on.
Of those two crashes, both resulted in the aircraft being written off, and later scrapped. However, only one actually caused fatalities, resulting in 228 fatalities.
By aviation standards, especially the laxer safety standards of the 1980’s, 228 fatalities, is incredibly good! Many other jets of the era suffered far more crashes and fatalities within their first few years of operating.
Whilst not a perfect record, it is still one of the safest of any jet airliner that ever flew, both by modern standards, and especially those of the 1980’s!
The 747-300 was also the first 747 that was truly free from incident. Whilst both the 747-100 and 747-200 were safe, they were both initially plagued with issues that had to be fixed by Boeing. The 747-300, did not have such issues…
Legacy
In spite of the Boeing 747-300 being the most unsuccessful of the “main” 747 variants (eg. 747-XXX), it did surprisingly leave a rather large legacy on the aviation industry as a whole!
Boeing
For Boeing, the 747-300 was a complete and utter disaster. Whether they like to admit it or not, it was much more than a commercial failure.
The 1980’s were a period of reconstruction for the aviation industry. Boeing had hoped that the 747-300 would serve as its flagship for the reconstruction and growth it hoped to do over the course of the 1980’s.
Whilst the latter did eventually happen (mostly thanks to the 737-300/400/500/600, 757 and 767) the early 1980’s were especially difficult times. This was mostly due to the failure of the 747-300.
You see, Boeing only made minor alterations to the 747-200, to make the 747-300. However, the alterations costed the company billions, billions it didn’t earn back until the release of the more successful 747-400 several years later.
Boeing 747-300
Today, the 747-300 is regarded as one of the greatest commercial failures of all-time. When Swissair placed the first order for the jet, Boeing had high hopes for it, believing it may become the best 747 built until that point.
Instead, Boeing got a commercial and technological flop. Even forty years later, many business and aerospace engineering school still teach about the commercial and technological failures of the 747-300.
Perhaps the best thing we can take from the Boeing 747-300 is that airliners that failure to adapt, that fail to be better than their predecessors, are doomed to fail. This is a concept that still applies to modern airliners!
Personally, I’ve been in (and started!) my own fair share of Airbus vs Boeing debates. In many of them, the failure 747-300’s failure has been brought up, often by Airbus fans as “proof” that Airbus is superior.
Future Aircraft
Primarily, what little money Boeing did get from the 747-300, went into developing the next jet in the family: The 747-400. Unlike the 747-300, the 747-400 would go on to become incredibly successful, partly thanks to the 747-300.
A small amount of money that Boeing received from the 747-300 would also be funneled into other areas of Boeing’s commercial aircraft division, often its space division, where it would finance other projects there.
Primarily, it would finance part of the development of the 737-400, and the subsequent 737 Classic airliners. In part, this money would also flow to the 757-200PF, helping to develop the first cargo variant of the 757.
Boeing would practically invent the concept of the straight internal stairway on the 747-300. This would then be used on all subsequent 747 variants, as well as the other double-deck airliner: The A380.
What do you think of the Boeing 747-300? Did you ever fly on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Artem Katranzhi via Flickr.