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By the Leeham News Team
Part 3 in a Series examining one of Boeing’s steps toward recovery.
May 11, 2026, © Leeham News: The Boeing 747-400, which rolled out of Everett in January 1988 and earned its type certificate in January 1989.
This latest derivative of the Queen of the Skies was a substantial aircraft in its own right. New wings with six-foot winglets, a glass cockpit designed for two pilots in place of the classic three-crew analog flight deck, new engine options, tail fuel tanks, a new interior, and dramatically extended range made it, in certification terms, a new aircraft described as a derivative.
The first Boeing 747-400. Credit: Boeing.
The two-crew cockpit adoption on the 747-400 carried direct echoes of the 767 experience, but with the outcome predetermined. By 1988, the battle over crew complement for large jets had been decisively settled. The presidential task force findings, the success of the 767 and 757 in revenue service, and changing union contracts had all pushed the industry to the two-crew standard.
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The 747-400 introduced a new glass cockpit designed for a flight crew of two instead of three, reducing the number of dials, gauges, and knobs from 971 to 365 through the use of electronics. This reduction speaks volumes about how dramatically the systems integration philosophy had matured.
