How many 747 8 have been sold

At the time, the was the longest aircraft in the world at During the design phase, Boeing predicted around orders for the plane, split equally between freighter and passenger variants. The program managed just half that figure: freighter orders and only 47 for the passenger plane. There are many reasons why airlines ignored the I and chose other aircraft instead. Despite major improvements in efficiency and range on the , there were other planes on the market turning heads.

Airlines were increasingly opting for twin-engines rather than four-engine planes like the I. Despite early interest from many airlines, including British Airways and Emirates both eventually choosing the A , orders were underwhelming and Boeing eventually cut its production rate by The Airbus A was in design and production at roughly the same period as the , and newer, more-efficient twin-engines such as the X were in development by the time the I took to the skies. Boeing can have few complaints about the sales of the F.

Though the passenger version of the with its staircase and oh-so exclusive upper deck rightly won the aircraft the title of Queen of the Skies , it's perfectly fitting that the pioneering airliner will end on a freighter note. Boeing developed the passenger version of the giant plane only after it lost a competition in to build a large military transport for the US Air Force.

Lockheed won that battle with its plan for the C5A Galaxy Prodded by Pan Am, Boeing then redesigned its transport concept to carry people instead. After it became a best seller with commercial airlines, the 's success as a freighter was due not only to its immense size the can fit Airbus tried to outdo Boeing with a cargo version of its even bigger A , but it never found buyers.

The aircraft, now ten years old, is currently sitting at Victorville in the Mojave desert. It would make sense for this aircraft to be the one that has been sold. For starters, Boeing already stopped making passenger s. With only three airlines taking the type , the pool of potential aircraft is tiny.

While Boeing was unable to tell us which aircraft had been sold, a spokesperson confirmed to Simple Flying that this was a previously built aircraft. Sadly, the end of the Boeing era is slowly coming around, especially as far as passenger aircraft are concerned. Due to the current situation, many airlines have retired their older fleets. Sadly the was already behind its time when it was released, with only three airlines even taking the plane.

Instead, smaller, more fuel-efficient twin jet aircraft such as the Boeing Dreamliner are now preferred.