747 - 8

[Wannabe Flyer]

I am flying this beauty next month. Have not flown on a 747 for years and was one of my favorite aircraft. Has any body travelled on this and what are some of the features (Y class) that will differ from some of the newer aircraft!

[PAXboy]

It will depend on what the carrier specified! The launch adverts for most new long haul machines show people relaxing on sofa's and taking a shower. The accountants tend not to like the PR people's imagination!

This forum may be able help you further: Spectators Balcony (Spotters Corner) - PPRuNe Forums (http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner-52/)although they are sometimes more interested in the externals than the internals. (No offence intended)

[AtoBsafely]

On start, you will hear the engines rumble like a 777. On takeoff the engines are much quieter.

If there is turbulence, you will feel it more than on a 744 but not as bad as an airbus.

Enjoy!

[Wannabe Flyer]

Thank you for the feedback. I hope the "new slim line:" seats are not the same uncomfortable ones the CX 330 had adopted. It was like sitting on a piece of cardboard not designed for a differently shaped rear end.

[Wannabe Flyer]

Ok so finally flew on this aircraft. Both ways got the last row (49)

My Views:

1) Seats are very uncomfortable and compounded with being in the last row that does not recline completely it was bad. I am glad I did not have a row on the side because of the door, but very congested and claustrophobic. I simply hate these new age seats they are crap.

2) IFE is good (i mean the hardware), however with the control buttons being on the armrest and seats being so tight, every time you rested your elbows you ended up hitting some button or the other. In my case kept turing the reading light on and off or calling the cabin attendant.

3) Turbulence as listed by another poster is felt a lot, and when i mean a lot at times it was like a bucking bronco swaying side to side with the plastics creaking a lot. Considering the captain did not turn on the seat belt signs I assumed actual turbulence was normal and was just being felt more. On my return flight yesterday it was rumbling / shaking all the way and had to keep one had on the food tray to keep it falling off. To note a lot of the disturbance was side to side and felt we were in the tail of whale being swished around left to right.

4) Restrooms are good and bigger with sensor based taps and flushes and slow falling seats. The rear restroom is especially spacious but the sink is too small and with the mirror so low little gap between them. A lot of water mess created all over because of that.

5) Engines and wheels in and out so quiet that it surprised me. No thumps or wind noises.

6) Air quality felt better and did not dry out that much on board.

Overall: If it did not carry the 747 tag I would have said 5/10 overall, but i am biased to this gentle giant so ..........

[Hotel Tango]

It's always advisable to avoid riding in the back of an airliner. Unless the skies are absolutely smooth you will feel more movement than in the middle, or indeed the front. Whatever the intensity of turbulence encountered it will be more pronounced at the back.

[Newforest2]

But don't more people survive an accident if seated in the rear? :hmm:

[Hotel Tango]

But don't more people survive an accident if seated in the rear?

Smooth ride v Quick end? :}

No time to check this out factually but statistically this may have been the case years ago. Not so sure that it's still holds true now days though.

[TightSlot]

When an airline purchases an aircraft, there are some aspects of the aircraft that are fixed by the manufacturer and may not be changed (e.g. wing, fuselage, landing gear) - there are others that are selectable by the purchaser, either from the manufacturer (e.g. engine, toilet numbers and locations, avionics choices) or a third party supplier, (e.g.seats, galleys, IFE, sometimes known as B.F.E. - Buyer Furnished Equipment.)

When we discuss the relative merits of aircraft it helps to remember all this. For example, the number and type of seats fitted and therefore the configuration, although restricted by legislation is in fact an airline decision: If we don't like some aspect of this, it would be best to criticise the airline rather than the manufacturer.

[Wannabe Flyer]

Tightslot: In my opinion points 3 thru 6 would relate to the manufacturer so these are the good points. (I am assuming toilet size is standard and the carrier cannot pick the size of the toilet).

Points 1 and 2 would be related to the carrier in this case LH.

Seating was 3 4 3 and the last row was only 4 in the middle with nice large doors 5L and 5R as company. Seats did not recline all the way as the rest of the economy seats do (about 60% only) and are not listed as so on the online website as such.

Increasingly in all carriers I have been flying in the recent past I am noticing these cramped and uncomfortable cardboard thin seats and a 3 4 3 configuration even in narrower body aircraft. In addition to this rows that ended at 47 now go to 49. Thankfully I still do not need a shoe horn to fit into the chair and the FA was kind enough to offer his chair when not in use as the seat in front of me when reclined made it very claustrophobic (This seemed more due to the last row dynamics but when you get the last row on both legs of a combined 18 hour flight then it can be a pain).

[ExXB]

seatguru.com exists because different airlines have different configurations. For example see Lufthansa's 747-8i (http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Lufthansa/Lufthansa_Boeing_747_8.php) seat map and note the comments on row 49.

The best seats in economy appear to be 21 b/c h/j and 23 d/e/f/g.

Tightslot - agree with your comments, other than to note that landing gear are made by third parities, not the manufacturers, not that any passenger would notice any difference. :8

[Rush2112]

I miss flying on the 747. SQ only seems interested in 777 from the Boeing stable these days and as most of my LH is to CDG it's a 380 every time I am afraid. I marvel at the engineering but it's pig ugly, whereas I always look at 747s parked at the various airports I frequent and think how elegant it looks despite its size.

[TightSlot]

Thanks ExXB - I was kinda thinking that the Gear is a mandatory part of the aircraft, with no options available to the purchaser - at least I can't think of any that don't involve a lot of noise and sparks! :E

[Sultan Ismail]

I am intrigued by post #3 which infers that a 744 will give a better ride than a 747-8. Are they not the same basic airframe with similar ride characteristics?

Comparing a 747 and a 777, my experience is the 777 provides a more comfortable and stable ride in severe turbulence. Based on more than 70 flights across the South Indian Ocean through Tropical Cyclones.

[Wannabe Flyer]

Mike 777LR

- My boss is such a cheapskate that if he has his way I would fly in the cargo hold, so there is little to no chance of me flying upfront for a smooth ride.

- Have not flown the 787 yet though I think i have a ride booked next month on it, but when I say quiet trust me they were at a whisper while at cruise.

- I do hope manufactures showcase better and more padded and comfortable seats for broke sods like myself. However walking thru business while exiting did not think much of the seats there too. Seemed very narrow compared to some other airlines I have walked by on

- I have always had an issue with the landing gear on the 330 which i feel makes quite the thudding bumping noise and whistling when lowered. Have written about it multiple times before. On the 340-600 the whistling was there but the thumps were absent, in the 747-8 When we crossed the threshold i thought there were going to be sparks as not even a jolt when the gear was lowered and I thought they had forgotten to lower them especially since it seem the aircraft glided all the way with no engine noise. A point to note i was in the last row in the 340-600 also :( so about 75m from the nose.

- I love the 747 as I grew up flying it multiple times and was sad to see it go a few years ago. Hopefully the economics of this one pan out though they are primarily going to be people carriers and gone are the days with the lounges and wide seats. I like the 777 also with many many miles flown over the past 10 years on it and find it a comfortable aircraft also.

- As a small note in this case the o/h luggage compartments in the center row are very narrow/low and shallow and barely fit a standard carryon piece. Probably also an LH option.

PS: Full disclosure: I am an Entrepreneur and my boss so do not run the risk of being fired for my first comment! :cool:

[spannersatcx]

Are they not the same basic airframe No not the same, they look similar but are very different in many ways.

[ExXB]

- Re: Landing Gear, again, TightSlot is correct because the biggest producer of landing gear (a European company, I think) provides products to both Airbus and Boeing.

The landing gear for B747-8 aircraft is made by the Goodrich Corporation.

[onboard]

Having worked on it a few times now, I can say, that it's a 747. Not that different from the 200/400 series I've worked on for years now.
As far as noting more movement in the back, my experience is that it's the same as on the 400. To me it doesn't feel different at all.
I also noted the mentioned lack of noise and "thumping" when the gear goes down, which I miss, as it's a convenient " last call" to get to your seat for landing.
Other than that, there are not that many differences inside the cabin. Intercoms have been upgraded,and have displays now, the IFE can be reset from the Galley, and finally the cabin temperature can be managed without having to bother the Purser (which is airline specific though, I believe) and also new to me is the liquids disposal unit. Nice touch, that.
Lighting options have thankfully improved, overhead bins have more capacity (not sure I should be mentioning that), but are more difficult to close.
Crew Rest Area has been relocated, and is now even nicer than on the 400. This though, I was told by a Boeing Tech, came about not as a perk for us, but happened as a consequence of moving it. Still very much appreciated, of course.
So, basically, everyone that's flown on a previous version of the 747, will be right at home. It's still a 747, but a much nicer one.
Oh, and the crappy door 5 is still the crappy door 5.
Everybody who's ever had to close that door, hanging out of the aircraft with wind, and no stairs beneath oneself (yes, ocasionally that does happen) will know what I'm talking about.