Walkaround

Boeing

747

747-400F, 747-8F, 747-8I

out of production, in service GEnx-2B, CF6-80C2 3 min read · updated 21 September 2026 · checked 21 September 2026

At a glance

Type card

In service variants747-400F, 747-8F, 747-8I
EnginesGEnx-2B on the 747-8, CF6-80C2 on the 747-400
PayloadRoughly 134 tonnes on the 747-8F
StatusOut of production since 2023, in service
747-8F built107 aircraft, 95 active
Distinguishing featureHinged nose door for outsize freight

Program and production

Boeing closed the 747 line in 2023, ending 54 years of production. The 747-8F was built from 2008 until that closure, and the last four aircraft went to Atlas Air, with two of those operated for Kuehne and Nagel and its subsidiary Apex Logistics under a charter arrangement.

The programme is now purely an in service story, but it is a healthier one than the type's reputation suggests. The 747-8F fleet is young by freighter standards and the nose door gives it a capability nothing else in production can match.

In plain terms

The 747 freighter's nose hinges upward, so cargo can be loaded straight in along the full length of the main deck. That allows items longer than any side door will accept, such as industrial machinery, turbine blades and aerospace components. No other current freighter offers it.

Succession is coming from the Boeing 777-8F and the Airbus A350F, but neither has a nose door and neither has delivered. The 777-8F rolled out in April 2026 with first delivery targeted for 2028, and the A350F is targeting first flight in late 2026 with certification and first delivery in late 2027. Until those aircraft arrive in volume, the 747 keeps working.

The clearest evidence of that is Cargolux. Facing 777-8F delays, the carrier agreed to purchase 747-400Fs from China Airlines, buying airframes built decades ago because the replacement is not ready.

Technical and maintenance

The FAA has adopted a new safety based Airworthiness Directive covering certain 747-8F series aeroplanes. It was prompted by reports of cracking in stringers and splice fittings located at stringer splices at multiple body stations.

In plain terms

Stringers are the long stiffeners that run lengthwise inside the fuselage skin. They cannot be made in one continuous piece over the length of a 747, so they are joined at splices, and the fittings at those joints carry high local load. Cracking there is a primary structure finding.

On the line

Multiple body stations means this is not a single localised inspection. Confirm effectivity by serial number and plan access, because stringer splice inspection on a freighter main deck involves significant disassembly and the work is not quick. Aircraft with high cycle counts relative to the fleet deserve to be scheduled first rather than last.

The broader maintenance picture on the 747-400F is straightforward ageing. These are high cycle, high hour airframes, many of them converted, and corrosion and fatigue findings dominate the workload. The CF6-80C2 support network has contracted as the fleet shrank, so rotable lead times are longer than they once were.

For the 747-8F, the GEnx-2B shares a family with the 787's GEnx-1B, which means it benefits from the larger installed base for parts and shop capacity. That is a real advantage over the 747-400F.

Orders and operators

There is no order book. The active fleet is what remains.

UPS is the largest 747-8F operator with 30 aircraft. Atlas Air follows with 17, two of which are leased to Kuehne and Nagel and Apex. Cargolux and Cathay Cargo operate 14 each, Nippon Cargo Airlines has eight and Silk Way West has five.

Fleet replacement over the next five to ten years is a live commercial question. A substantial number of 747 freighters will need replacing, and the available successors are both delayed. That tension is why used 747-400Fs still trade.

Safety

No significant developments since 21 September 2026.

The stringer splice cracking described above is being handled as a continued airworthiness matter. No new accident investigation involving the type opened in this period.

Sources