Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental

Back in September 2003 I flew on Concorde from Heathrow to JFK just a month before the iconic aircraft ceased commercial service.

And whilst I've flown on Boeing 747-400s over half a dozen times, I've never had the pleasure of flying on the final version of the Queen of the Skies!

Sadly there's only a handful of airlines which fly the Boeing 747 (either 400 or 8i) with the number gradually reducing year by year.  Many of the B747s are flown by cargo airlines.  And most of the remaining passenger aircraft are exclusively flown on long haul routes.

Air China's fleet of four B747-400 and five B747-8s do still get used on short haul flights.

So last year I booked a ticket on CA1557 from PEK to SHA in the hopes of getting a ride on the scheduled B787-8i, well aware that aircraft swaps regularly happen.  Sadly an aircraft swap did indeed happen, and I ended up on an old Airbus A330.

Chastened by the the experience, I started to build a spreadsheet of when the B747-8i did actually operate CA1557 to see if I could establish any patterns.

With 15 months of data, the headline is that you have less than a 1 in 3 chance of riding a Queen if you book a random CA1557.

For those lucky enough to travel on the week commencing 14th April 2025 they had a 5 in 7 chance of a B747-8i, otherwise the best weeks had a 4 in 7 chance.

Sunday was the best day of the week with more than a 1 in 2 chance last year, with Wednesday having just under a 1 in 2 chance.

Spring and Summer Sundays

Between the end of March and the end of August, 20 out of 23 Sundays saw a B747-8i operating the flight.  Of the three Sundays where a smaller plane operated, two of the following Monday saw the Queen in service.

Conclusions

For the best chance of catching a ride on a B747-8i you really need a flexible ticket, so that once an aircraft has been allocated a couple of days in advance, you can swap your flight if needed.

Book a seat on CA1557 on a Spring or Summer Sunday to give yourself the best chance of success.

Let me know if you find any other short haul flights with a decent chance of a B747-8i.

Chinese Airlines Widebody Seat Pitch

Since I'm probably going to book one of the big Chinese airlines for a long haul flight, here are their longhaul seat pitches in Economy

I'm using AeroLopa - which usually has the most up to date information

First off there's China Eastern

Their twenty A350s have a 3-3-3 layout and 31" pitch and 18" width

Their 20 B777s have a tighter 17" seat width in a 3-4-3 layout but with 32" pitch

They have two different A330-300s configurations - with either

 a 17.3" seat width in a 2-4-2 layout and a 31" pitch or

a 17.8" seat width in the same 2-4-2 layout but with a 32" pitch

They have three different A330-200 configurations - with either

 a 18" seat width in a 2-4-2 layout and a 32" pitch or

a 17.8" seat width in a 2-4-2 layout and a 32" pitch or

a 17.2" seat width in a 2-4-2 layout and a 32" pitch or

Next up is Air China

Their fourteen B787s have 17.1" width in a 3-3-3 layout and 31" pitch

Air China's six B747-8s have a generous 18" width in a 3-4-3 layout and 31" pitch

Their 28 B777s have 18" width in a 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 layout and 31" pitch

Their 29 A350s have 18" width in a 3-3-3 layout and 31" pitch

Their 28 A330-300s have 18" width in a 2-4-2 layout and 31" pitch

Their 21 A330-200s have 18" width in a 2-4-2 layout and 31" pitch

And finally China Southern

Their twenty A350s have 18" width in a 3-3-3 layout and 31" or 32" pitch

Their ten B787-8s have a 3-3-3 layout and 31" pitch and 17.3" width

Their twenty B787-9s have a 3-3-3 layout and 32" pitch and 17.3" width

Their fifteen B777s have a 3-3-3 layout and 32" pitch and 18.5" width

Their 22 A330s have 17.4" or 18" width in a 2-4-2 layout and at least 32" pitch

Conclusion

Avoid China Eastern's twenty 10 abreast B777s

Avoid Air China's twenty eight 10 abreast B777s

China Southern don't have any 10 abreast planes

Online Checkin

China Eastern opens online checkin 48 hours before departure 

China Southern does not allow checkin from most foreign airports

Air China opens online checkin 36 hours before departure for direct bookings only