Why the era of the four-engined giant jet is coming to a close

Cultures · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Once the gold standard for long-haul safety and power, the quadjet is fading from our skies. As engine reliability soared and fuel efficiency became the primary metric for success, the once-mighty four-engined airliner has been outmaneuvered by highly efficient twinjets that offer similar range and capacity at a lower cost.

In the early days of the Jet Age, four engines were a necessity. Early turbojets and low-bypass turbofans lacked the thrust of modern engines, and the limited reliability of the era made four-engine redundancy essential for long-range, transoceanic flights. The de Havilland Comet, which first flew in 1949, pioneered this configuration. By the 1960s, the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 solidified the quadjet's dominance, though their high fuel consumption made them less ideal for short-haul routes compared to emerging trijets and twinjets.

The turning point arrived with the introduction of ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) ratings. As jet engines became remarkably reliable—with failure rates dropping to as low as 1 in 100,000 engine-hours—regulators allowed twinjets to fly routes previously reserved for aircraft with more engines. Simultaneously, the development of massive, high-bypass turbofans like the General Electric GE90 allowed twinjets to match the power and range of their four-engined counterparts. Operating two engines instead of four significantly reduced maintenance costs, which are driven heavily by routine engine servicing, and slashed fuel consumption.

The industry's shift from a spoke–hub model to point-to-point travel further eroded the quadjet's market. Massive aircraft like the Airbus A380, designed to carry hundreds of passengers between major hubs, struggled to fill seats as airlines prioritized smaller, more efficient twinjets like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. While the Boeing 747-8 found a niche in the freighter market, passenger demand for double-deck jets evaporated. Following the end of A380 production in 2021, the final Boeing 747 was delivered on January 31, 2023, marking the end of an era for the iconic four-engined passenger jet.

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