The 747 aka gane yayin da iska tafiya da aka kara a cikin 1960s. A zamanin kasuwanci jet sufuri, ya jagoranci da babbar shahararsa na Boeing 707 da Douglas DC-8, ya kawo sauyi dogon-nesa tafiya. Ko da kafin ya rasa CX-HLS kwangila, Boeing aka tambaye ta Juan Trippe, shugaban Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), daya daga cikin mafi muhimmanci jirgin sama abokan ciniki, don gina wani fasinja jirgin sama fiye da sau biyu da girman da 707. A wannan lokacin, filin jirgin sama cunkoso, worsened da kara yawan fasinjoji da aka gudanar a kan mun gwada kananan jirgin sama, ya zama matsala da cewa Trippe tunani za a iya jawabi da wani ya fi girma sabon jirgin sama. A 1965, Joe Sutter aka canjawa wuri daga Boeing ta 737 ci gaban tawagar gudanar da zane ga sabon jirgin sama, ya riga ya sanya model number 747.
Boeing 707 da Douglas DC-8