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The Era of Wide-Body Airliners
A new generation of huge, fuel-efficient airliners that could accommodate hundreds of passengers helped further drive down the cost of flying.
Pan American and Boeing again opened a new era in commercial aviation when the first Boeing 747 entered service in January 1970. Powered by four efficient high-bypass turbofan engines, the huge aircraft could seat up to 400 passengers (later versions even more) and had lower operating costs than other airliners at the time.
Other wide-body designs soon followed, such as the three-engine McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and the twin-engine Airbus A300. |