Boeing needed a smaller aircraft to compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar tri-jet wide-bodies, introduced in 1971/1972.

The variant first flew on July 4, 1975, was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration on February 4, 1976, and entered service that year with Pan Am.

With a 700,000-pound (320 t; 320,000 kg) maximum take-off weight, it can fly 276 passengers in three classes over 5,830 nautical miles [nmi] (10,800 km; 6,710 mi).

[2] The idea for the 747SP came from a request by Pan Am for a 747 variant capable of carrying a full payload non-stop on its longest route between New York and Tehran.

[3] Joined with Pan Am's request was Iran Air; their joint interest was for a high-capacity airliner capable of covering Pan Am's New York–Middle Eastern routes and Iran Air's planned New York-Tehran route[4] (New York to Tehran was the longest non-stop commercial flight in the world for a short time).

Boeing could not afford to develop an all-new design, instead opting to shorten the 747 and optimize it for speed and range, at the expense of capacity.

[9] Boeing later changed the production designation to 747SP for "special performance", reflecting the aircraft's greater range and higher cruising speed.

However, a VIP order[5] for UAE's Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight led Boeing to produce one last SP in 1987.

A former Pan Am and United Airlines aircraft acquired in 1997, its airframe was modified to carry a 2.5-meter-diameter reflecting telescope to high altitude, above 99.9% of the light-absorbing water vapor in the atmosphere.

[12] The aircraft was later flown to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, to be put on public display.

[15] As of June 2024[update], there are just two Boeing 747SPs remaining in active service, both operating as testbed aircraft for engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada.