The Boeing 747 8 Intercontinental and Boeing 747-8 Freighter are the next progressions of the iconic Boeing 747 which has been Queen of the Skies now for nearly 40 years. With all-new technology which has been gained from the development of the Boeing 777 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the 747 8 is presented in direct competition to the Airbus A380 “Super Jumbo”, as it has been dubbed.
Currently, sales for both the Boeing 747 8 and the Airbus A380 are a bit soft, particularly the 747 8i. Where many airlines have been buying the Boeing 747 400 over the past years, some have selected this aircraft, not for its size necessarily, so much as the long-range ability that it offers. Today, however, we see that twinjets such as the Airbus A330, Boeing 777, Boeing 787 and the new Airbus A350 have moved into the long-range niche. Some of the longest routes in the world are now operated by varying versions of these twin jet airliners.
Technology today has progressed to the point that jet engines are far more dependable than their predecessors and long over-water flights are safe. Something called ETOPS ( Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) governs the ability for new aircraft models to be allowed to fly for extended periods over water. This is granted to new aircraft models progressively as they prove their reliability. For example, ETOPS-180 means that an aircraft can only go over the water to an extent where they can get to the nearest available suitable airfield flying on one engine in under 180 minutes.
…..long-range is no longer a sole attribute of the A380 and 747 alone…..
So the point here is to show that the advantage of long-range is no longer a sole attribute of the A380 and 747 alone, their only advantage now is the ability to carry many more passengers than the smaller twinjets.
The advantage for Boeing is that their Jumbo 747 8 is also sold as a cargo version, the 747 8 Freighter, so this may give them a wider market to appeal to.
Below are details of the first 747 8 orders as well as the current state of Orders and Deliveries:
Launch Customers for the Boeing 747 8 Intercontinental and
Boeing 747 8 Freighter.
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Summary of Boeing 747 8 Orders as at the end of April 2020.
| Aircraft | Orders | Deliveries | Unfilled |
| Boeing 747 8i | 47 | 47 | – |
| Boeing 747 8F | 107 | 90 | 17 |
| Total Boeing 747 8F and 8I | 154 | 137 | 17 |
Boeing 747 8 Intercontinental orders and deliveries as at the end of April 2020.
| Customer Name | Eng | First Order | Orders | Deliveries | Unfilled | First Delivery |
| Air China | GE | 6-Sep-12 | 7 | 7 | – | 27-Sep-14 |
| Business Jet / VIP Customer(s) | GE | 30-May-06 | 8 | 8 | 28-Feb-12 | |
| Korean Air | GE | 7-Dec-09 | 10 | 10 | 25-Aug-15 | |
| Lufthansa German Airlines | GE | 6-Dec-06 | 19 | 19 | 25-Apr-12 | |
| Unidentified Customers |
GE | 27-Dec-13 | 1 | 1 | 10-Dec-17 | |
| USAF PAR Program |
GE | 31-Aug-17 | 2 | 2 | 31-Oct-17 | |
| Orders | Delivered | Unfilled | ||||
| Total Boeing 747-8i | 47 | 47 | – |
Boeing 747 8 Freighter Orders and Deliveries to the end of April 2020.
| Customer Name | Eng | First Order | Orders | Deliveries | Unfilled | First Delivery |
| AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC | GE | 10-Oct-14 | 7 | 7 | 10-Oct-14 | |
| Atlas Air | GE | 11-Sep-06 | 10 | 10 | 2-Nov-11 | |
| Cargolux Airlines | GE | 15-Nov-05 | 14 | 14 | 12-Oct-11 | |
| Cathay Pacific Airways | GE | 8-Nov-07 | 14 | 14 | 31-Oct-11 | |
| Korean Air | GE | 28-Dec-06 | 7 | 7 | 6-Feb-12 | |
| Nippon Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd | GE | 15-Nov-05 | 8 | 8 | 25-Jul-12 | |
| Silk Way Airlines | GE | 5-Jul-13 | 5 | 5 | 22-Aug-14 | |
| Unidentified Customer(s) | GE | 27-Nov-12 | 4 | 4 | 23-Mar-13 | |
| UPS | GE | 27-Oct-16 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 28-Sep-17 |
| Volga-Dnepr UK Ltd | GE | 30-Nov-06 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 26-Jan-12 |
| Orders | Delivered | Unfilled | ||||
| Total Boeing 747-8F | 107 | 90 | 17 |
March 2020: No deliveries or fresh orders were processed in March. The unfilled orders for the 747-8F still stood at 17, 13 for UPS and 4 for Volga-Dnepr UK Ltd.
December 2019: UPS and Volga-Dnepr UK Ltd account for the 17 orders that are still outstanding for the Bowing 747-8F.
March 2019: One more 747 8F delivered to UPS taking their total to 10 out of 28.
February 2019: This month saw one delivery made of the 747 8F to Volga-Dnepr UK Ltd. This is the final delivery to this operator completing their order of six aircraft.
If there is more you want to learn about this airliner, please visit: Boeing 747 8 Home, Boeing 747 8 Specs, Boeing 747 8 Order Book, Boeing 747 8 History, Boeing 747 8 Assembly and Boeing 747 8 Interior.
We welcome your comment below, is there more we could be showing or are there topics you would like to see? Thank you.
I cannot understand your order count. What is the total of 747’s on order, freighter nad passenger
combined? My math says 112 as of today and not counting UPS options.
Hi John and thank you for stopping by. I truly appreciate your feedback and have taken your ideas onboard. You will find that I have now added the 747 8F to the order summary and provided a total of all 747 8s as far as orders, deliveries and airframe outstanding is concerned.
Once again thank you for taking the time to comment.
Regards Peter
Hopefully this helps, there are no more 747-8I’S on order ” passenger planes” do you follow?? There is a few unidentified customers ,meaning there aircraft are either BBJ Boeing Business Jets or through a leasing firm., and the 11 747-8F are for UPS… UPS also has committed to ordering another 14 747-8F that are not yet posted.. At this point there are a grand total of 150 747-8I / 747-8F that where ordered and out of that 124 where delivered 150 total orders including both of UPS ‘S orders….. hope this helps..
Hi Warren,
You’re right, it seems the world has lost their appetite for the Jumbo airliner. This is becoming apparent to Airbus too as they struggle to find more buyers for the A380. Their launch of the A380 Plus is an attempt to sweeten the offering.
The Boeing 747F freighter on the other hand is enjoying a slightly better journey. Yes UPS have added a further 14 747Fs to their order book as well as 4 767Fs. These will be reflected when confirmed by Boeing.
Cheers Peter
I didnt see the contract with the USAF on your site, is that contract now null-in-void?
Sorry I had no contact with the USAF, I tried but hey, what can I tell you?
The first two 747-8F’s have been delivered to UPS. N605 is in service and N607 is in Louisville Kentucky undergoing its conformity checks. It will go in service in the next few weeks.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for sharing. Is this where you are? Have you seen them? Love to hear more.
Cheers Peter
I have always enjoy fly the boeing planes 747 is my favorite
Hi Lee,
Yes the Boeing 747 is certainly an awesome aircraft and a great way to fly. I guess you might feel like, “if it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going”.
Cheers Peter
I and my wife were “honored” to be part of the 747 Incredibles”. Seeing the first 747-100 being built was awe inspiring. I spent 33 years at Boeing, mostly at the Everett plant. I crawled through every nook and cranny of that great aircraft. We watched it progress from the -100, -200, worked on modified aircraft to a -300 configuration, -400. We modified many aircraft for airliners throughout the world from passenger aircraft to freighters,, rebuilt 747’s for NASA, 747-E4A & B for The U.S.Air Force, converted 747’s for the Imperial Iranian Air Force from 747 passenger to KC-747/Cargo aircraft, Executive 747 SP’s for Iranian Royalty, and many more modifications for airlines and executive requests, including Air Force One’s. She is on her final days I think but, who knows, the A380 can’t compare to the 747 so she may get a reprieve and remain in production for many more years but, one thing for sure, the 747 will, in my mind, always be “The Queen of the Skies”
Hi Bill,
Thank you for stopping by and wow, 747 Incredibles.
Yes the Queen of the Skies has had, and continues to have a very distinguished career. It is sad to see more and more of the 400s disappearing from our skies. Also it is sad to see the 747-8 not getting the take-up enjoyed by her ancestors. It seems to be a way of the future now that the skies are being taken over by the giant twins. Even the Airbus A380 seems to have hit a sales ceiling. With ETOPS conditions being met by so many of today’s twin-jets, the need for 4 engines is diminishing.
Cheers Peter
Hey there! I found this site just now, and wow, it’s awesome! But, the last photo in this post is a B747-400F in the old Cargolux livery, you can cleary see on the engines too that’s a 400F. All the Cargolux 8F’s are delivered in the new livery, the first was the LX-VCB btw. Please correct this! And I see there is an Incredible’s comment, wow, I respect him!
Hi András,
thank you for your comment. We believe you may be right, how embarrassing! A new image has been added which is no doubt the 747-8F of Cargolux. Thank you for pointing this out.
Cheers Peter
Long Live The Queen
Loved flying on 747-400. Was on an early KLM flight .Flew beautifully.Pilot came out and raved about how great it was to fly.Enjoyed being upstairs in business class,in two seating arrangements.Believe one had about 25 seats other about 45.
Being up there made you feel as if you were not in a plane vs the many seats below.Continued success to Boeing and quick resolution to the 737 issue
Yes, we were just talking yesterday about how it would be great to fly the 747 one last time as they start to disappear from our skies. I know what you mean by the upstairs business class cabin. I did it on British Airways and it felt like flying on a larger private jet. I great experience.
When will the last 747 be delivered, I’m assuming to UPS, as things currently stand.
Good question, but I believe your assumption might be right.
I too will miss the B747. The first flight I flew in this Magnificent Beautiful machine was in early 1983 on Virgin Atlantic out of EWR to GWT. Virgin Atlantic was a fairy New Airline at the time as well as the EWR – GWT route, I think the only other Airline Flying this route was Peoples Express, also fairly new. Maybe they hadn’t even started flying to London yet? I was in AWE!, enjoying every hour over the Atlantic Ocean. This wasn’t my first time flying to Europe and being only 21 back then, it was considered a long haul flight. Most wouldn’t enjoy 1 hour flying over the Ocean as I did, but then again it was a B747! and my first time flying on one! I’ve been fortunate enough to have flown in a B747 many more times since then, the 100,200,300EUD, and the 400 both in Coach/Economy and in F/C, B/C as well as both upstairs and downstairs in the main cabin. I was even lucky enough to be flying on a B747 from ORD-ANC-ORD with Flying Tigers, a Cargo Airline before FedEx bought them out (I was a Crewmember with a Commercial Airline and Flying Tigers allowed Pilots, FO’s, Enginers and Cabin Crew to fly on them, as long as they had available jumpseats or in this case B747 with their upper decks in a 12-14 F/C layout! Each time I was onboard a B747 it was a truly enjoyable trip. I loved them all and every Airline and the Livery painted on their fuselage didn’t matter if I was up or down, F/C, B/C or economy with other PAX to talk to or over a 100 mooing cattle below, for hours and hours, I was Flying on a B747 seeing the world 🌎!!! Enjoyed reading all of the above comments and I hope a few enjoyed mine. Regards, and Safe Flying.
Ron Vander Naald
Hi Ron,
what a wonderful relationship you have had with the B747. Yes, Flying Tigers I remember them. I remember seeing their DC-8s actually. Peoples Express too, what era that was. Thanks so much for sharing and yes your recollections are very enjoyable to read. Feel free to share more if you would like. It really brought back some good memories.
Cheers Peter
Hi Dave,
well, as things stand at the moment. UPS’s big order for 14 aircraft in 2018 has pushed the final delivery out to 2022 at current rates. So it’s a case of, that is how it stands today but, there may be other orders forthcoming that we don’t know about yet. Online shopping has been a big driver for the flourishing airfreight business. Now with COVID-19, do we really know what is going to happen? No, we don’t. The world is a fast-changing place right now which could mean freight airlines might sit on their hands, or find there is an opportunity to be filled. I guess the short answer is when they finally close the factory door.
Cheers Peter