Getting Over The Hump

Juan and Bill did.

Juan needed something bigger. An entrepreneur from an early age, he turned a small air mail delivery service into the world’s biggest airline …Pan Am.

But now Juan had a problem … his small jets were full and airports were getting crowded … he needed something larger and temporary until the world started travelling by supersonic transport as was expected in just a few years … he needed a bigger aircraft

So Juan called his friend Bill at Boeing … which was hurting… they’d poured enormous resources into a major US Air force contract bid for a new cargo plane … and lost. But seeing value in reusing the cargo plane’s design, Bill’s team dusted it off .. and after getting over several humps … they created a new passenger aircraft.

Juan was thrilled and ordered 25 of the new jets … mostly because he knew that when he didn’t need them anymore for passengers he could always convert them to cargo …

Well supersonic travel never arrived. in part because it was so expensive but mostly because the plane Juan and Bill set about making dramatically cut the cost of air travel

Today, the plane that Juan needed and was originally designed for cargo only is the most recognizable passenger airplanes ever built .. and also one of most successful too with over 1,500 produced … the 747.

The 747 is a great idea … because getting over the hump in business can really help you take-off.