The 747 ti a ti conceived nigba ti ofurufu irin ajo ti n pọ si ni awọn 1960s. The akoko ti owo ofurufu gbigbe, olori nipa awọn tobi gbajumo ti awọn Boeing 707 ati Douglas DC-8, ti revolutionized gun-jinna irin ajo. Paapaa ṣaaju ki o to sọnu awọn CX-HLS adehun, Boeing ti a beere nipa Juan Trippe, aare ti Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), ọkan ninu wọn julọ pataki airline onibara, lati kọ a arinrin ofurufu diẹ ẹ sii ju meji awọn iwọn ti awọn 707. nigba yi akoko, papa congestion, worsened nipa increasing numbers of passengers carried on relatively small aircraft, became a problem that Trippe thought could be addressed by a larger new aircraft. ni 1965, Joe Sutter ti a ti gbe lati Boeing ká 737 idagbasoke egbe lati ṣakoso awọn iwadi fun awọn oniru fun awọn titun airliner, ti tẹlẹ yàn awọn nọmba awoṣe 747.
Boeing 707 àti Douglas DC-8