Lufthansa has been speaking to Flight about when it expects the 747-8i’s – and the date for your diary is is the 23rd April. This is ahead of the planned introduction to service in May.
Like the 787, there have been some delays with the delivery of the 747-8i series aircraft, but the first delivery has been made to the Government of Qatar (after an appropriate re-fit). The 747-8F’s have been a bit more successful getting out of the yard with 12 cargo airframes which have left Paine Field, and now 1 intercontinental leaving too.
Lufthansa has 20 of the 747-8i’s on order, with a delivery rate of 5 per year, to be configured with the hallowed flat bed business class seats and a total of 386 passenger seats in a three-class layout.
They will come… and they will see an early introduction into regular service. Despite the glam of the first few revenue 747-8i flights, even the great Lufthansa won’t have their soft product in ideal shape for a couple of weeks. I’d hate to spend the seriously Big Bucks on a flight that had the expected service ‘leaks.’ Trying the 747-8i is a great idea, but to get the very best, give them a little time to learn the aircraft and the hardware-specific routines. Sure, the pilots now how to drive them, but the FAs don’t get much advance training and they +/- have to learn as they go. Wait at least a month and the soft side will be in far better shape. Duh?