And that was 2013

Boeing delivered 24 747-8s in 2013, down from 31 last year.

Line 1488 (RC549) HL7624 for Korean Air Cargo slipped out just ahead of the bell, flying off to Seoul on the 30th.

Photo thanks to moonm.

One delivered 747-8F, line 1479 (RC525) JA15KZ for Nippon Cargo has yet to fly away.

What's to look forward to in 2014? Well, the new 1.5 frame per month assembly rate should slow things down, and I estimate only 16-20 deliveries for the year. The 1500th 747 should be rolled out and delivered to Lufthansa. Air China and Korean Airlines should be the second and third operators of the 747-8I this year. And hopefully, some more orders!

Here's to an auspicious new year for the 747.

Cathay takes one for the road

Cathay Pacific announced today an order for one 747-8F which will bring their total fleet to 14. I was hoping for more, but one is better than none. Cathay's VLA passenger plans are clearly 100% focused on the 777 unfortunately for the 747-8. In other Cathay updates, they took delivery of line 1486 (RC563) B-LJM on the 23rd.

Also delivered was AirBridgeCargo's final frame, line 1483 (RC605) VQ-BRJ. This, along with the paper delivery of line 1479 (RC525) JA15KZ for Nippon Cargo Airlines, marks the end of the desert storage saga, at east for now. All 747-8s that were parked in the desert over the last year or so have now been delivered.

It's looking like 23 deliveries for 2013, unless line 1488 (RC549) HL7624 for Korean can squeeze out the door before the end of the year. That's down from 31 last year, but still a healthy number.

Second 747-8 PIP Delivery

Today, Cathay Pacific took delivery of line 1484 (RC562) B-LJL, marking the second delivery of a 747-8 with PIP engines. Deja vu, two deliveries in two days. The third should happen in the next few days.

Line 1479 (RC525) JA15KZ also paper delivered to NCA two days ago, and should fly away soon. On deck for 2013 still are lines 1483 (RC605) VQ-BRJ for ABC and 1488 (RC549) HL7624 Korean Air Cargo, but the latter is looking like a stretch with only one test flight so far.

You might notice the bottom of the chart has four new Intercontinentals added. Two of those are for Lufthansa, which gave me a sigh of relief. I was a bit paranoid they were going to cancel the last four orders and stick with 15 747-8Is, after they cancelled a few A380s earlier this year. Now it looks like they're going ahead with all 19 747-8Is, and possibly 20 if they end up taking line 1435 (RC021) D-ABYE back. I say add another five to fill up the alphabet (D-ABYZ?). Not including that extra letter in the German alphabet of course (D-ABYß?).

First 747-8 PIP Delivery

Today, Cathay Pacific takes delivery of line 1483 (RC561) B-LJK, marking the first delivery of a 747-8 with PIP engines. According to Boeing's press release, activation of the other two major improvements, the flight computer upgrade (for all 747s models 400 and up) and tail tank enablement (for 747-8I only), will proceed later this month and early January (with Lufthansa) respectively. Here's to (1.8%) more efficiency! Pics to come.

And more details from Aviation Week (thanks for the heads up Mario), stating a total of 3.5% efficiency increase with the whole package (1.8% is from engine only):

The upgraded engine forms the core of a broader set of aerodynamic and structural improvements that have been introduced since the freighter and passenger versions of the aircraft first entered service in 2011 and 2012 respectively. “Together with the other improvements made since entry-into-service on the 747-8F at the end of 2011, the engine PIP bundles 1.8% with another 1.7% for a total of 3.5% (fuel burn),” says 747-8 chief project engineer Bruce Dickinson. In addition to drag reduction and improvements to the cruise efficiency of the wing, the empty weight of the 747-8 has been reduced by almost 8,000 lb, while payload-range capability has been boosted through a 12,000 lb. increase in maximum take-off weight. The GEnx-2B67 PIP incorporates an all-new low-pressure turbine, as well as compressor, combustor and turbine improvements derived from the second batch of upgrades (PIP II) devised for the GEnx-1B engine on the 787. GE provisionally expected a 1.6% fuel burn improvement but, based on positive test data, upped this to 1.8%. The package of upgrades was launched after pre-delivery flight tests revealed a fuel burn performance shortfall in excess of 2%.

Speculation About Lines 1435 and 1437

The fates for lines 1435 and 1437 are still unclear.

Line 1435 has finished certification testing and is sitting on the KPAE flight line. It's not apparent if she's getting refurbishment done yet. Boeing has her earmarked internally for Lufthansa once again, but it's uncertain if this is real or some clerical anomoly, as nothing has been officially announced. I'm reluctant to get my hopes up, because it would make me really happy to see line 1435 finally end up as D-ABYE and be a real passenger airliner with a long career. If she goes to waste as a VIP frame, it'll be disappointing. I know VIP 747s have to exist, but they really are poor utilization of a good frame. Another possibility is that Transaero might take her up as one of their four (soon to be firm) orders.

Line 1437 has flown quite a bit over the past few months. I'm guessing she was used in some of the certification testing. Her engine cowls were painted Atlas blue recently, and along with this news that Atlas has expanded its 747-8F wet leasing, starting in February 2014 with BST Logistics in Hong Kong, I'm wondering if Atlas will take back their unwanted frame.

Again, this is mostly speculation. We'll just have to wait and see.