Aviation enthusiasts of a certain age in Singapore will remember the Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 for its moniker – ”Big Top”, “Megatop” and “Mega Ark”. The rest of the world though referred to the plane simply as the “jumbo”.

The 747, with its distinctive hump housing the flight deck and the first class suites, ushered in a new era in air travel. It was the first wide-body, twin-aisle commercial passenger jet to enter service.