9 Years Of Service: Why The Passenger Boeing 747-8 Didn’t Take Off

June 1st 2021 marked exactly nine years since the Boeing 747-8’s first revenue-earning passenger-carrying flight. While its predecessors, particularly the 747-400, sold quite well, the 747-8 has found orders rather harder to come by. Let’s take a look at the operational history of this aircraft, and why, at least in its passenger form, it hasn’t taken off.

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[SpoolUpFan]

I was lucky enough to fly on a Lufty 747-8i in the bubble on my 50th birthday… Once you’ve spent a night with the Queen, everything else feel, well, inferior! The best birthday present a spool up fan could ever have. And the most beautiful plane, bar Concord, ever built ❤️

[codywright]

The 747-8 is simply a gorgeous air frame.

[deeya]

Same reason why the A380 program also failed, changing times...

If both had debuted in the early 90s, would've been absolute gangbusters. They wouldn't even have cannibalized each other's sales, there was so much space for both of them back then.

[ChrisZoomER]

Most 747s have been replaced by the similarly sized 777-300ER as opposed to the 747-8 because of it's super high capacity much like the A380. The 747 was originally meant to be a cargo plane when Boeing was designing it in the 1960s but others preferred the C-5 design over the 747 so the first 747s were passenger planes. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise you that the 747 made such a successful cargo plane!

[timaz]

I got to walk in one at Oshkosh EAA AirVenture 2021 a day ago. UPS had just taken delivery of it a few weeks ago.

[mh-]

Lufthansa ordered 20 747-8. It only took delivery of 19 as their very first plane was used as a test plane and was over weight. After flight testing, Lufthansa decided not to take delivery of the test flight plane after refirbishment.

[kencarp]

It’s all GE’s fault, with those GIGANTIC and powerful GE-90 engines, off which you only need two on modern passenger airliners.

That said, the ‘74 has always been my second-favorite passenger aircraft, and I hope it keeps flying for a long time.

My favorite passenger aircraft of all time was the 727, which had beautiful graceful wings completely free of engines. It flew before the age of turbofans and was too noisy for the modern aviation environment, and it also needed a flight engineer… but it was in my opinion the prettiest bird ever in flight.

[TheGABEPA]

Funny how before knowing the little number of aircraft delivered, It was very in you face when taking the tram at SFO. I saw so many B474-8 that I'd never believe that there were so few made, and I hope that I get in one before they're retired.

[AndreBSaba]

One of the most beautiful aircraft ever made

[lajoyalobos]

Point to point killed it 😢 If the 747-8 had come out a decade or two earlier they would have sold like hotcakes

[laustinspace]

The 747 is a legend. All credit. Sadly Boeing let the bean counters rule and let Airbus lead with superior passenger comfort aircraft. Prime example cabin noise levels . In 747 ( and 737, 757, 767) at cruise it’s a constant shout to communicate. 380 is normal voice communication. I hope Boeing can get over themselves and return to quality building

[tonyinsf]

I was at SFO in a shuttle bus taking me from the gate out to where my Alaska Airline plane was parked and similar to those videos of whales that breach shockingly close to a boat, a departing Air China 747-8i from out of nowhere whizzed by the window. I was awed by it’s elegance and scared by it’s sheer size and power, as I watched take off from an exclusive front row seat.

[manugfan]

I’ve been on the 747-400ER and 747-300 both with Japan Airlines in 2008. I hope to ride on a 747-8i one day either with Lufthansa or Korean Air

[TheBrowncoat]

I toured the Boeing plant in Everett when the last four were under construction. Even in the moment I knew that we were witnessing the end of an era that stretched back to the late 1960s. In my mind it’s still the most beautiful jumbo ever built.

[michaelbujaki]

I think that the 747-8 and the A380 have a chance to make a comeback if the skies and the airports get overcluttered again.

[nomissimon]

Upper Deck Business Class on the 747-8 of Lifthansa To Johannesburg was my best flight ever

[donaldstanfield]

Hard to believe the 777X will be even longer than 748!

[travelingguy]

I flew the Lufthansa 747-800 several times and loved it. There is just something about the 747 I still love as my favorite passenger jet of all time. To me, it is the quintessential long-range jumbo.

[dan]

The Brunei Government owns 1 private B747-8 for the Sultan of Brunei, it looks impressive. They also own 1 private B787-8

[shibenify]

I ve flown this massive beauty from Munich to Mumbai with Lufthansa in 2017. Nothing can & nothing will ever match this plane. Except the A380 of course, which gives a similar feel.