The Queen of the Skies is fading away. The Boeing 747, the original widebody jet that has, according to Air and Space Smithsonian Magazine, “transported the equivalent of 80 percent of the human race” over the years, is being taken out of service far faster than industry observers had expected.

On March 31, 2014, the last Japanese 747 landed at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport and was retired, ending a long love affair between that nation and the four-engine airliner. The 747 is being supplanted by smaller but highly fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft such as the 787 and the new Airbus A350 XWB (Extra Wide Body).

This quick changeover wasn’t expected. Boeing poured a reported $4 billion into the 747-8, the last version of the 747, which incorporated the latest avionics and jet engine technology used on the 787. But, as of October, it had sold a disappointing 119 of the jets, 51 passenger planes and the balance freighters.

But any disappointment for Boeing has been more than offset by the stunning success of its new flagship, the twin-engine 787 Dreamliner. Despite well-publicized teething problems, the commercial reception for the design has been excellent — more 1,000 planes have been ordered as airlines have gravitated toward its recipe of moderate capacity, high efficiency and long range, enabling them to provide more point-to-point, nonstop services.

The situation is also difficult for the 747-8’s even larger competitor, the A380. Launched with great fanfare seven years ago, only 318 of the behemoths have been ordered, and only 138 delivered — far short of expectations and not nearly enough to pay off the $25 billion in development costs. It appears Airbus made the wrong bet when it decided to pursue raw size and capacity, and now it’s rushing to catch up with its A350 XWB competitor to the 787.

Is there a message in all this for other freight sectors? Is bigger, in fact, always better?

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