In the mid-1960s air travel was growing exponentially, spurred by the 1958 introduction of the Boeing 707, the first successful jet airliner. To meet the growing demand, Pan American Airlines president Juan Trippe asked Boeing for a new plane that could carry 400 passengers—twice the 707âs capacity. His timing was perfect; Boeing had recently roughed out a jumbo-jet design for the Air Forceâs C-5 military mega-lifter competition. Although Boeing lost out to Lockheed, it had in hand the technology and design experience to give Trippe the airplane he wanted. In 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 747s at a cost of $550 million.
