Boeing delivered the first 747-8 with performance-improved GEnx-2B engines as part of the airplane's Performance Improvement Package (PIP.) A Cathay Pacific Airways 747-8 Freighter was the first 747 to deliver with the PIP engines.
The engine is the first of the package's three improvements to enter service. The two other components, Flight Management Computer (FMC) software upgrades and reactivation of the horizontal tank fuel system on the 747-8 Intercontinental, are expected to enter service later this month and in early 2014, respectively. The new GEnx-2B engine improves the airplane's efficiency by 1.8 percent. All three PIP components can be retrofitted on the 747-8. The tail fuel reactivation is applicable only for the 747-8 Intercontinental and the FMC upgrades can also be made to 747-400s.
