Apparently I missed the rather significant news on Tuesday that the Boeing 747-8i, the passenger version of the company’s largest aircraft, is now in service. The very first, delivered to a private customer with a Qatari registration, took flight as an unmarked white behemoth on the 28th, headed from Paine Field to Wichita where it was actually delivered to the customer.
There are a few photos over at NYCAviation and at AirlineReporter.com.
Next up is the delivery of the first to a commercial carrier. That will be this aircraft heading to Lufthansa, though the date of that delivery is yet to be publicly announced.
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What are the visual clues to distinguish this from its predecessor? Am I right in thinking the upper deck is longer? Are there any others?
The upper deck is longer, as is the back half of the body. Also, no winglets. Otherwise, pretty similar to the prior models.
NB, the 748i has a new wing that looks similar to the 787.
An absolutely gorgeous bird – so much more beautiful than that awful Frankestein monster the A380.
Will F on this bird for LH be in the nose now (similar to UA)? I can’t see them wasting so much space upstairs, especially if it is only 8 seats.
The 747-8 is actually a lot different from any other 747. It is longer ahead and behind the wing compared to other 747s. The wing is all new, with a different airfoil profile and totally different flaps and high lift devices. The winglet of the -400 is gone, replaced by gently raked tips borrowed from the 787. The GEnx engines are completely new, and much bigger than any other 747 engines. The nacelles have sawtooth trailing edges to help reduce noise. The -8 also has the oval, slightly larger cabin windows of the 777 and 767-400ER, except in the main cabin doors, where the traditional 747 windows remain (no need to totally redesign the doors just for the windows).