When The Boeing 747-8I Entered Service With Lufthansa

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the inaugural flight of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, which German carrier Lufthansa operated as LH416 between Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) on June 1, 2012.

The flight was operated by Captain Elmar Boje, who happened to be the chief pilot for the carrier’s 747 fleet. The 747-8 Intercontinental, stylized as the 747-8I in short, was launched in November 2005 and was poised to carry up to 467 passengers across three configuration classes.

With a range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 kilometers), it could carry 51 more passengers and two extra freight pallets compared to its predecessor, the 747-400.

During the design phase, a shorter stretch on a freighter model was planned (3.6m / 140 in vs 5.6m / 220 in); however, both variants were ultimately offered at the same length, optimizing passenger capacity and decreasing range.

Photo:  KITTIKUN YOKSAP | Shutterstock

For the passengers onboard, there were several differences between the original and new ‘Queen of the Skies,’ in which the 747-8I had a more extended upper deck and a more spacious entrance. A curved staircase provided a more optimized use of space for both upstairs and downstairs cabins.

The main cabin utilized an interior similar to the famous 787 Dreamliner, with curved overhead bins. For those seated in the center row, it was designed to look like it was attached to the upper ceiling. For those looking out the window, the panoramic positioning and size are similar to the 777 and 8% larger than the 747-400.

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LH416 bound for Washington

A decade ago, Lufthansa operated the first commercial flight onboard the 747-8I. It departed Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) at 09:50 for the eight-hour and 55-minute service to the United States capital, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

The service was expected to touch down at 12:45. In addition to revenue-paying passengers, several VIPs boarded the first flight, including the Lufthansa CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board, Christoph Franz, and Boeing vice president and general manager, 747 Program, Elizabeth Lund.

A strong delegation of US and international media outlets traveled and greeted the flight, which was LH419, in Washington before its return journey. The flight departed Washington at 17:55 and arrived eight hours later, at 08:05, the following day.

The 747-8I was deployed on the route six days a week, excluding Tuesday, which added 6.3% capacity on the city pair. This feeds many additional passengers into the global Lufthansa network from its Frankfurt base.

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New business class cabin

The new aircraft also brought with it a new international business class product. Offering a unique seating configuration in a V shape, two neighboring seats were angled towards each other on a central axis. This solution enabled the carrier to fulfill a fundamental wish requested by the airline’s most frequent customers: to sit in the direction of travel.

Photo: KITTIKUN YOKSAP | Shutterstock

In addition, it doubled the distance between two business class travelers and added greater privacy and extra ‘living space.’ The seat could convert to an entire flat at 6ft 6 inches (1.98 meters).

Overall, the aircraft was configured for 362 passengers across three classes of service: eight in first, 92 in business class, and the remaining 262 at the back in economy. Fast forward to today, and the configuration has been adapted slightly to include premium economy in the offering, which is now eight first, 80 business, 32 premium, and 244 economy class seats.

The specifications

According to ch-aviation, Lufthansa continues to operate 19 of the iconic aircraft and four of the remaining 747-400. Below are the finer specifications of the aircraft:

According to ch-Aviation, there are 125 of the 747-8 in the sky across three variants, including passenger, freighter, and BBJ (Boeing Business Jet).

Cargolux was the launch customer for the freighter version, taking flight on October 12, 2011, quickly followed by the Government of Qatar, which received the first BBJ version on February 28, 2012.

The final production of all three variants was between 2017 and 2023, with Korean Air the last customer on July 7, 1017, the Government of Egypt on November 6, 2021, and Atlas Air on January 31, 2023. Throughout the aircraft production, 155 total aircraft were ordered and delivered.

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