Air China 747-8I to New York Started Today

Today, Air China flew its inaugural 747-8I flight to JFK airport in New York City as flights CA981 and CA982. This is the first regularly scheduled international passenger service on a 747-8I not run by Lufthansa. Line 1507 RC067 B-2486 got to do the initial run. This 13 hour flight is scheduled daily, and soon to join in on the international action will be daily service to San Francisco, scheduled to start mid year. The article linked above also states Los Angeles starts in March, but I'm not sure if that's accurate or not. I hope it is!

B-2486 arriving at JFK. Photo by cv880m.

Also, line 1487 RC527 JA17KZ flew off to Tokyo today. This frame actually delivered contractually in December 2014. There are now no undelivered NCA frames lying around in storage. First time in a long time that can be said! There are, however, six still on order, none of which have been assigned slots in the firing order yet.

Boeing Makes 1500th 747 Delivery

Not really noticed by many is that with the delivery of line 1487 RC527 JA17KZ to Nippon Cargo Airlines, Boeing has made the 1500th delivery of a 747 into service. Note, this is not the 1500th 747 built, but the 1500th delivered to a customer. How do I figure?

• Last 747-400 was line 1419.
• Line 1 never delivered, but every other frame up to 1419 did, so that make 1418 deliveries.
• Line 1487 is the 82nd 747-8 delivered.
• 1418 + 82 = 1500, Quod Erat Demonstrandum

So congratulations are due. Congratulations!

JA17KZ will sit around KPAE in short term storage before she flies off to Tokyo in January. You might remember that line 1479 RC525 JA15KZ did the same thing at the end of last year.

Deliveries Remaining for 2014

With the delivery of line 1489 RC528 JA18KZ to Nippon Cargo (just over a year after roll out!), that brings the total delivery count for 2014 to a meager 14. Here's what to expect for the remainder of the year:

• Line 1485 JA16KZ should deliver to NCA in late November
• Line 1487 JA17KZ should deliver to NCA in late December
• Line 1507 B-2486 should deliver to Air China in November
• Line 1508 B-2487 should deliver to Air China in December

Which will bring the total delivery count for 2014 to 18 frames; the current manufacturing rate. It's possible a couple more might slip in before 2014 ends, but unlikely.

In other news, a very exciting one year birthday is fast approaching... who could it be? :O

First Flight for Line 1487

Nippon Cargo Airlines line 1487 (RC527) JA17KZ went up for a first flight today after six months since rolling out of the factory. Her older sister is stored in the desert awaiting delivery, and her younger sister is awaiting engines and paint. No word on when 1487 will deliver, but it should be sometime this year. Full take off roll after the break.