747-8I Trip Report

Back in late February I had to fly to Barcelona, so I seized the opportunity to fly on the 747-8I with Lufthansa. I've flown in a number of 747s before but this was my first trip in the 8I.

The route of the flight was Carlsbad (KCRQ) - Los Angeles (KLAX) - Frankfurt (EDDF) - Barcelona (LEBL). The equipment was:

• KCRQ-KLAX: Skywest/United Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (N584SW there, N221SW back)
• KLAX-EDDF: Lufthansa Boeing 747-8I  (D-ABYI there, D-ABYL back)
• EDDF-LEBL: Lufthansa Airbus A321-200 (D-AISP there, D-AIDL back)

The Embraer, by the way, was a fun little twenty minute flight. The greatest part of this was the service from a quiet airport ten minutes from my house, with all the perks of connecting. Although, actually connecting at LAX from terminal 8 to the Tom Brady International terminal is extremely inconvenient. It's a looooooooong walk and there's no transportation (other than a $20 taxi around the loop). At least I didn't have to worry about my luggage.

The 747-8I is a 747 through and through. I sat in premium economy, which is nice. It's really what all standard economy seating should be; enough room to be comfortable and retain a little dignity. Lufthansa's interiors are immaculate and modern. The plane itself vibrated a bit on takeoff both times, but other than that was a smooth ride. Very 747 like. Feels like a flying tank. Nothing feels 'widebody' to me like a 747. You can feel the inertia absorb turbulence, turning it into more of a comfortable rumble rather than a disconcerting rattle. The engines are amazingly quiet. I almost missed the racket you usually hear on takeoff. Now it's more of just a calm, firm push back into your seat.

I've talked about it before, but I went into the cabin and talked to the pilot and copilot. You can read about his comments here.

Some pictures, and then full videos of takeoff and descent below:

Brasilia at Carlsbad

Flight to Germany. They must have known I was coming.

Entertainment

Frankfurt is still a 747 haven.

D-ABYH had an issue, so they wheeled her off. She flew a different route later in the day.

D-ABYL rolls in to save the day.

747-8I cockpit

Here is video I took of the departure and the landing coming back from Frankfurt: 

I also captured a bit of the return trip departure and arrival on the Brasilia coming home from Los Angeles:

Lufthansa Order Filled

Today is bittersweet. Lufthansa takes the final delivery of their order for 19 747-8Is. The order that kicked off the program is filled. Line 1514 RC040 D-ABYU is the last Lufty frame to leave the nest.

It's pretty certain now that there won't be a top up order from Lufthansa, as many of us had hoped. Sadder still that they won't be taking line 1435 either. Line 1435's future looks dire; years in a desert, followed by, at best, sparse use by a BBJ customer on Rolex shopping trips. Maybe Air Morocco will take her.

But alas, let us celebrate Lufthansa for at least being the catalyst behind the beautiful 748I, and operating by far the largest fleet of them, hopefully deep into the 21st century.

I still need to write about my trip on the 748 last month. In summary: it was cool.

70's Flashback Delivery

Today, line 1513 RC039 D-ABYT delivered in all of her retro glory. Only one left for Lufthansa to take...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/woodysaeroimages/

Yankee Sierra Delivers

Line 1512 RC038 D-ABYS delivered to Lufthansa. This is their 17th frame. Only two left to go. (?)

Woody's Aeroimages

Time Machine

Today Lufthansa's Line 1513 RC039 D-ABYT went up for a B1 in all of her retro glory. Line 1512 RC038 D-ABYS also went on a customer flight, and should deliver in the next week or so.

Photo by Royal S King

Wrong Part 1 (of ? Parts)

Lufthansa's line 1513 RC038 D-ABYT is getting the "retro" livery (link in German). I had predicted D-ABYE would get it. Oh well, I still have a chance at being right about the rest... Pics below.

And in other melancholy news, line 1514 RC039 D-ABYU rolled out last night. She's the final Lufthansa 747-8I to be built. As of now...

As reported by Till Bartels

https://twitter.com/mattcawby

D-ABYU by Cawby

Two First Flights for January

Both line 1504 RC512 LX-VCL, 748F #12 for Cargolux, and line 1512 RC038 D-ABYS, 748I #17 for Lufthansa, made first flights this month. Both are scheduled to deliver in February. Here they are, learning to fly:

Line 1512 RC038 D-ABYS, by Matt Cawby

Line 1504 RC512 LX-VCL

Line 1504 returning to KPAE after B1

Lufthansa D-ABYR Delivery

Lufthansa took delivery of their 16th 747-8I, line 1511 RC037 D-ABYR, today. She just flew off...

Lufthansa Top Up Order Speculation

Because this blog has been dreadfully boring lately, I'm going to speculate about Lufthansa. If you don't remember, they ordered 20 747-8Is, launching the Intercontinental program into reality. They eventually cancelled one of them, line 1435, which was used as a test frame and considered too out of spec to take. Out of their remaining 19 frames, 15 have been delivered. One is ready to deliver any day now, two more are on the flight line going through testing, and the last frame is finishing up on the Final Assembly Line.

There have been rumors that Lufthansa is going to take back line 1435. If this is true, then they'll eventually announce it, and if they announce it, I think it's likely they'll announce a small top up order for the 748 as well. A small order is a huge order for the 747 right now. Anyways, based on cues and clues, I'm starting to feel it's likely Lufthansa will announce an order for about five or six 747-8Is early this year, including putting line 1435 into service. It would be great to see 1435 enter passenger service, as she's been through a lot of testing (both for the original 747-8I test program and then as the sole dedicated test frame for the PIP package last year), and needs some stability in her life. I also think 1435 will get the retro livery Lufthansa has talked about applying to one of their new 748s.

Again, this is just me speculating based off what is observable. If it comes true, I can brag about my amazing prescience. If it doesn't, you won't notice me silently deleting this post from the archive. You can ridicule me or praise me in the comment section.

Is She Or Isn't She?

Currently all four 747s in the FAL are for Lufthansa. As of now, these are the last four 747s for LH, and should all deliver in the first half of 2015.

Which brings up line 1435... A great picture of her came out the other day, and Boeing engineers are strapping engines back on, which means they're probably nearing completion of refurbishment. So is Lufthansa going to take her? That's still uncertain. At least the nacelles are still Lufthansa grey. I'm hoping for an official announcement with a top up order in the next few months.

Found on http://airwaysnews.com

Deliveries Deliveries Deliveries

Three deliveries in the month of August! Silk Way Airlines took two, finally. Line 1493 (RC641) VQ-BVB and line 1496 (RC642) VQ-BVC flew off to Azerbaijan and into service, one last week and one tonight.

Cawby pic of VQ-BVC leaving KPAE

Lufthansa took one today as well. Line 1503 (RC036) D-ABYQ flew into service as their 15th 747-8I.

That's ten deliveries for the year. There's still a lot of mystery and intrigue with where and when some of these newer frames are going. Stay tuned to the chart...

747-8I: Chariot of World Champions

Those crazy Germans won the World Cup yesterday, and are flying home to be adored in style on the Siegerflieger (Winner plane... sounds better in German). Line 1475 (RC028) D-ABYI is doing the honors. Flagship indeed.