Boeing launched the 747-8 in November 2005 as the last version of the jumbo. Engineers stretched the fuselage and borrowed the GEnx engines and wing technology created for the 787. Boeing hoped that technology would keep the jumbo strong for another generation. Freight customers signed up first, and passenger airlines took more convincing. Boeing knew the jumbo era was drawing to a close. It pressed on anyway.
The freighter flew on February 8, 2010, and Cargolux began service in October 2011. The passenger 747-8 Intercontinental first flew on March 20, 2011, and Lufthansa began service in June 2012. At 76.3 meters it was the longest airliner in the world until the 777-9 arrived, and it is still the heaviest Boeing ever built. Its sheer size still turns heads on any airport ramp.
Sales never came close to earlier 747s. Airlines had shifted to efficient twinjets, so only Lufthansa, Korean Air and Air China bought passenger models, though freighter buyers included Cargolux, UPS and Atlas Air. Just 155 were delivered before the last 747 of all rolled out in January 2023, ending 54 years of production at Everett. Two airframes are now being rebuilt as the next US presidential aircraft.