The 747-8 Intercontinental

The 747-8 Intercontinental is the passenger version of the 747-8 — the last passenger 747 Boeing built, and the least commercially successful part of the programme.

What it offered

The stretch is worth 51 more seats than a 747-400 and about 26 percent more cargo volume in the holds, which matters more than it sounds: belly freight is a significant part of a long-haul aircraft’s earnings. A typical three-class layout seats around 467, and range is about 8,000 nautical miles.

Inside, the cabin borrows heavily from the 787. The overhead bins are curved and appear attached to a sculpted ceiling rather than cut into it, the windows are around 16 percent larger than the 747-400’s, and solid-state LED lighting can be tuned through the flight to mimic times of day.

The upper deck was extended slightly, and the staircase to it became a curved, sweeping design rather than the narrow straight stair of the 747-300 and -400.

Who bought it

Very few. Lufthansa launched the variant in December 2006 and remains by far the largest operator; Korean Air and Air China also fly them, and a small number were built as VIP transports for governments and private customers.

The reasons were structural rather than specific to the aircraft. By the time the Intercontinental was on sale, airlines were moving away from very large four-engined aircraft toward twin-engined widebodies like the 777 and 787, which fly similar routes on half the engines. The Airbus A380 struggled in the same market and for the same reasons.

The one that carries presidents

Two 747-8 airframes originally built for a customer that never took delivery became the basis of the VC-25B, the aircraft intended to replace the VC-25A as Air Force One. A third 747-8, gifted by Qatar, entered US service in 2026 as an interim presidential transport.