Boeing 747-8

Boeing · United States · first flew 2010 · airliner

The Boeing 747-8 is the final and largest member of the 747 family, the longest 747 ever built and the longest commercial airliner in the world.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, swept
E — Engines	4 × turbofan, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Longest 747 fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Iconic upper-deck hump
Longest 747 fuselage
Four engines and raked wingtips

Look for the unmistakable forward upper-deck hump combined with an exceptionally long fuselage, four engines and distinctive raked, curved wingtips that set it apart from earlier 747s.

Specifications

The Boeing 747-8 has a length of 76.3 m (250 ft).
It has a wingspan of 68.4 m (224 ft).
Its maximum speed is 988 km/h (614 mph).
Typical crew: 2 flight crew.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Launched in 2005 and first flown as a freighter on 8 February 2010, with the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger version following on 20 March 2011. It introduced 787-derived engines, a new wing and a stretched fuselage, but sold modestly as twins came to dominate long-haul, with the final example delivered in 2023.

Variants

The 747-8 comes in the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger model and the 747-8F freighter, the latter accounting for most sales. Both retain the signature partial upper deck.

Where you'll see it

No UK passenger carrier flies the 747-8, but cargo 747-8Fs are regular visitors to East Midlands and Stansted, and Lufthansa passenger examples have been seen at Heathrow.

In depth

The 747-8 exists because Boeing had two constituencies that still wanted a very large four-engine aircraft in the 2000s: cargo operators who had built their hub economics around the 747F's volume and range, and a small number of passenger airlines with high-density routes where the economics of a very large aircraft still stacked up. The programme was launched in 2005, flew as a freighter prototype on 8 February 2010, and the passenger Intercontinental variant first flew on 20 March 2011. From the start, the split between the two variants defined the programme's character: the 747-8F was commercially viable; the 747-8 Intercontinental was a harder sell.

The -8I passenger fleet is genuinely rare. Lufthansa was the launch customer and the largest operator, taking delivery of aircraft that went into service on Frankfurt long-haul routes. Korean Air also took the passenger variant. Beyond those two airlines, the 747-8I's passenger career was largely written in VIP and government configurations — the aircraft's interior volume and long-range performance made it attractive as a head-of-state transport or ultra-high-end private jet conversion. The US Air Force selected the 747-8 as the basis for the next Air Force One replacement, designated VC-25B, with two aircraft on order. Those aircraft were originally intended for a Russian carrier that cancelled its order, leaving Boeing with two green 747-8 airframes that were subsequently acquired by the Air Force. Delivery of the VC-25B has slipped repeatedly and as of 2026 remains years away.

The 747-8F freighter is where the type actually lives as a fleet. Atlas Air, Cargolux, UPS, and Korean Air Cargo operate significant -8F fleets. The aircraft's main-deck volume and structural payload capability — around 134 tonnes maximum — make it competitive on transpacific and transatlantic trunk cargo routes. East Midlands Airport and London Stansted are the most likely UK encounter points for the type, both serving as northern European cargo hubs with regular 747-8F night movements. Watching for the -8F versus the -400F at those airports is a reliable spotter exercise.

Distinguishing the 747-8 from the 747-400 is the most common identification challenge because the two share the same fundamental silhouette — four engines, the iconic upper-deck hump, swept wings. The critical differences are: first, wingtip treatment. The 747-400 uses upward-curving winglets of approximately 1.8 m; the 747-8 uses raked wingtips that curve outward and upward in a single smooth arc, a design derived from the 787 programme. At any viewing angle where the wingtips are visible, this is the single fastest tell. Second, fuselage length. The 747-8 at 76.3 m is the longest commercial aircraft ever built, noticeably longer than the 747-400's 70.7 m. At a gate where you have a reference object like a jetbridge, the extra 5.6 m is perceptible. Third, engine nacelles. The 747-8 uses General Electric GEnx-2B engines with a characteristic serrated or chevron exhaust nozzle treatment — the same noise-reducing technology visible on 787 Trent 1000 and GEnx-1B installations. The 747-400's CF6 or RB211 nacelles are smooth at the nozzle. Fourth, the upper deck. Boeing stretched it on the -8, so the hump extends further aft before tapering; the -400's upper deck is shorter and drops off more steeply behind the wing.

The final 747-8F was delivered to Atlas Air on 31 January 2023, ending 54 years of continuous 747 production. Boeing built 1,574 aircraft across all 747 variants. The programme's close was announced in 2020 when Boeing determined that the order book could not justify maintaining the production line, a decision driven by the same market dynamics that had kept the -8I from selling: modern twin-engine widebodies, specifically the 777-300ER, 777F, and A350F, offer comparable range and economics with two fewer engines to maintain.

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