Designing the 747 and building the new factory cost a lot of money. This meant that Boeing had to borrow a lot of money from a bank. Just before the first aircraft was finished, Boeing had to keep asking for more money. If Boeing was not given this money, the company could have collapsed. Boeing was in over $2 billion in debt. Allen said, "It was really too large a project for us." However, the 747 program was a success. Boeing was the only company to make very big planes for many years.