Welcome to my special trip report on the Queen of the skies!
A new aircraft type for my flight logbook: The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental
This is D-ABYL
Introduction
There are many flights from Europe to South America, interesting airlines that don't fly to Singapore such as Iberia, ITA Airways, Air Europa, Azul Airlines and TAP Air Portugal. However, what makes me decide on Lufthansa is down to the aircraft type, the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, an aircraft type before this flight was missing from my flight logbook. I flew on the smaller and older sister, the Boeing 747-400 many times so I hope to add this aircraft in to my flight logbook therefore I searched for the best route that is guaranteed this aircraft model. 2 routes came to my mind, Buenos Aires and Sao Paolo have been operated by the 747-8 for many years and checking the flight history, there has not been an aircraft change to another model. I decided on Buenos Aires as I wanted to explore this city and pay a visit to Ushuaia. Once the decision was made, I went ahead with the booking and the airfare was not exactly cheap even at the economy basic class tier. At least the good thing from it is that I was given an option to upgrade for the flight to Buenos Aires and the return flight back to Frankfurt.
I chose my birthday date to travel to make it even more memorable. Do I expect a birthday cake? No, not at all. The year ago I flew on my birthday with EVA Air, I received no special attention and that's fine. It is better this way especially I am doing a review on the airline, no special treatment is needed. Anyway, what is more important to me is adding a new aircraft type for my flight logbook and flying across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to South America, this would be a new route for me. So without further ado, let's begin this trip report!
The airline's mobile app (Checking in procedure)
Just a day before my flight, I was able to select my seat for free with the exception of the front row seats which the airline was charging Euro $55 for it. That is the problem when selecting the economy basic tier. Selection of seat is not free for the standard seats until to the day before check-in.
Even though this was an almost 14 hours flight, I had to choose the window seat to enjoy the landing at Buenos Aires EZE airport. My last visit to this airport was a 2 a.m flight departure with BOA airport to Santa Cruz (VVI) and my arrival to this city was at the other airport (AEP) so this would be my first time landing in this airport.
I was tempted to upgrade myself but in the end I decided to save the cash.
The seat map
Important information is given after the successful web check-in.
I am glad the covid period is long over because the last time I went there, I had to take the covid test and prove my result. Thanks goodness!
I am all set to fly!
About the airline's Boeing 747 fleet (2025 update)
The airline is currently operating both the Boeing 747-400 and 747-8 fleet. The original plan was to retire the Boeing 747-400 fleet a few years ago but because of the lengthy delay of the Boeing 777-9 and until this aircraft type is certified, the firm delivery date is still unknown as it has been pushed back many times, the latest update is the first aircraft to be delivered in 2027.
This is Lufthansa's Boeing 747-400 (Photo: Helmut Schnichels)
This is the airline's Boeing 747-8 in the retro livery (Photo: John M)
So for now, the airline operates 8 Boeing 747-400: D-ABTK, D-ABTL, D-ABVM, D-ABVU, D-ABVW, D-ABVX, D-ABVY and D-ABVZ
Configuration of this aircraft: 67 Business Class, 32 Premium Economy Class and 272 Economy Class seat
So far I have flown with the airline's Boeing 747-400, D-ABVD (retired) and D-ABVZ when the airline was operating on the 5th freeom route: Singapore to Jakarta many years ago.
Routes of the Boeing 747-400 (December 2025 update)
Sometimes the Boeing 747-8 may be deployed on the 747-400 routes if the scheduled 747-400 aircraft is not available.
For the boeing 747-8, the airline is currently operating 19 aircraft however one of the aircraft (early built) was used by Boeing for extensively testing and the aircraft ended up to be differently built compared to its own configured aircraft therefore the airline declined to take delivery of this aircraft. The registration was supposed to be D-ABYE if the aircraft was delivered but because of the reason mentioned earlier, this registration in the fleet is skipped. For this aircraft frame, it was only until October 2021, Boeing managed to find a buyer with the Egypt Government and the aircraft was configured in a VIP configuration and was registered as SU-EGY, however it was parked for 4 years and finally the aircraft headed to its new home in Cairo on the 11th December 2025. All the best to this airframe!
For the rest of the 19 Boeing 747-8, the aircraft have been serving well with the airline. (Registration: D-ABYA, ABYC, ABYD, D-ABYF - D-ABYU)
Configuration of the aircraft: 8 First Class, 80 Business Class, 32 Premium Economy and 244 Economy Class seats
The latest plan is for these aircraft to continue to fly beyond 2030 and it is expected to fly at least until 2040. So with that in mind, this fleet of 747 will undergo cabin upgrade with the new Allegris cabin products replacing the existing cabin except there is one thing, the upper deck which consists of the current business class will be temporary retained as there are challenges in installing the new cabin on it. That would be bizzare once the aircraft is out from the workshop. There would be a mix of the old and new business class products and the big question is how would the airline market it, let's see what happens then. I guess this arrangement is a temporary one until the airline can find a solution to install the new cabin business class product on the upper deck.
More information of the new business class product (Allegris) coming up in my Part 2 of my Lufthansa 747-8 Flying Adventure.
Routes of the Boeing 747-8 (December 2025 update)
For the airline's Boeing 747-8I fleet, I noticed the some of the aircraft are dedicated to flying on certain routes. For example, I haven't seen the likes of D-ABYC to ABYL doing some of the longest routes such as FRA-EZE/GRU as they are usually done by D-ABYM, -O, -P, -Q, -R, -S, -T and -U.
On the day of departure
This is Frankfurt Airport, Terminal 1 Departure hall.
This is the old split-flap display which is commonly used in the older days.
I dislike the self check-in kiosk, it saves cost for the airport and airline but bring inconvenience to passengers especially those with many luggages. However there are ground staff over there to assist you if you require their help.
The self check-in kiosk for the airlines using this terminal.
How many airlines in this list below have you flown?
I have flown all except Condor, Discover Airlines and Middle Eastern Airlines.
I used my passport to retrieve the flight itinerary.
The details are out and I could still change seat if I want to.
Full flight it was.
I received my boarding pass and baggage tag.
Off to South America for the 2nd time. :)
The self baggage check-in machine
Within a few seconds, my luggage was good to go.
After that, I made my way to the airside.
Merry Christmas!
Not the nicest airport to hang around to be honest. Comparing the most frequent European Airport, LHR to Frankfurt, I prefer LHR.
Security screening took about 40 minutes to clear due to the long queue.
Once clear, I walked around to check out the gate area.
This is the assigned gate for my flight.
Doesn't this reminds you of the US Airports in terms of the terminal design?
There are charging ports at random seating area.
A visit to the business class lounge would have been nice.
The Queen of the Skies - Boeing 747-8 being prepared for departure. This 747 was bound for Sao Paulo.
There are quite a number of duty free shops.
I rested for a short while at this area.
Singapore Airlines flight SQ325 (Operated by A380) was departing soon.
Lab Gate
This terminal could do with some upgrading if you ask me.
A mini playground.
This is how crowded the gate area was when it was close to boarding time.
Finally we were boarding.
My ride: D-ABYR
Later on I was informed by the Captain that the aircraft was heavy in load and fuel, in fact we were a few tons below the maximum take off weight (MTOW) - Around 442 Tonnes.
Almost there, getting ready to board the Boeing 747-8 for the first time.
My ride: D-ABYR (Photo: Charbel Sandoval)
Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental
Aircraft name: Breman
Configuration: F8 C80 W32 Y244
1511th Boeing 747
Engines: 4 X Genx-2B
Age: 11+ Years Old
Delivered in January 2015
Flight route: FRA-EZE
Miles: 7,133
Average Flight Time: 13 hours 30 minutes
Airlines flying on this route: Lufthansa
My seat: 32K (Photo: Aerolopa.com)
Date of departure: 28th November 2025
Airline: Lufthansa
Flight: LH510
Aircraft: Boeing 747-8
Registration: D-ABYR
Departure Terminal: 1
Seat: 32K
Gate: B26
Load: 100% in Y Class
Flight Time: 13 hours 50 minutes
Actual Flight Time: 13 hours 44 minutes
Schedule Departure: 2205
Boarding: 2129
Push Back: 2217
Take Off: 2238
Schedule Arrival: 0755
Actual Arrival: 0822
Departure Weather: Partially Cloudy
Departure Runway: 18
Arrival Runway: 11
Arrival Weather: Partially Cloudy
My Flight Experience
Boarding this 747 reminds me of the good old 747-400 days which many airlines used to operate. I was fortunate to be able to fly on the Boeing 747-400 of the following operators: Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Korean Air, Lufthansa and even the 747 Combi of Asiana and EVA Air. So it's great to be flying on the 747 once again and to make it even better this is a new varient for me, the -8 model.
Anyway, boarding took quite a while especially after finding out it was a full flight. Once I stepped inside this aircraft, the interior especially in the economy class makes me feel nostalgia, its like flying in early 2000s with outdated inflight entertainment system and the thick economy class seats which I find it to be reasonably comfortable. The good news is the airline made plans to upgrade its cabin on the lower deck with new cabin products so we should be expecting the new products soon.
Anyway once we settled down, the crew made the usual announcement in both English and German. The Captain came on the speaker and informed us about our longer flight than usual due to the head wind and later on after chatting with him, he explained to me about longer flight time and some interesting facts about this aircraft.
When we took off, I got to enjoy the familiar GE engines similar to the ones on the 777, only thing is it is quieter. I managed to catch a movie before dinner was served. Unfortunately my phone battery was low and I didn't realise there was no usb charging ports but luckily the universal charging port saved me and it was probably better because the charging port is slower. There were 2 meal services on this almost 14 hours flight, no midflight snack was served and during the middle portion of the flight, I was feeling quite hungry. I suppose you can request for snacks from the table of call the crew for it but I tried to catch as much as sleep as I can.
The inflight service was generally ok, one of the crew on my side was pretty good and in fact he recognised me as an aviation enthusiast and invited me for the visit to other classes and later on seek permission for me to visit the cockpit. I should have gotten his name and send in a compliment letter to the airline, for that I am very grateful to him.
Anyway somehow I managed to get through this 14 hours flight in the cramp economy class seat, definitely not the most comfortable way of flying. I guess I am spoilt by the newest economy class cabin products from the top airlines but I think despite the shortcomings of the cabin, the experience was not too bad.
After the flight, I spent a while longer on the aircraft exploring the cabin and a cockpit visit (big bonus), I was in no hurry to rush off anyway because arriving into Buenos Aires around 0830 and my check-in to the hotel was in the afternoon so I had some time to spare.
This is how the new economy class seats look like (Photos: Lufthansa)
Welcome on board the Queen of the Skies!
First class
This is located at the nose of the aircraft, lower deck.
- 8 Suites
- Each seat has a seat width of 30.5 inches
- Legroom space of 83 inches
- Can be converted into a lie-flat bed
- 17 inches of HD Touchscreen
- Universal AC and USB-A sockets are available
- Each seat comes with storage locker
Presenting to you the best seats on the aircraft.
That's me in First Class! (After flight of course)
Business Class (80 seats altogether)
(Lower Deck) - Just behind the First Class cabin
These seats are based on Collins Diamond Parallel Platform.
- 48 seats in the lower deck
- 2-2-2 seating configuration
- 2 storage compartments
- 20 inches of seat width
- 64 inches of legroom space
- can be converted into lie flat bed
- 11.7 inches HD Touchscreen Display
These seat product may be old but it still beats sitting in economy class.
This is the mini business class with 2 rows located between the economy class and the crew's workspace.
This is the first cabin of the business class.
For flight routes to South America, this aircraft is used as the premium demand is high.
While this cabin product has nothing to be excited about, it still looks comfortable for resting and sleeping.
Soon, these seats would make way for the new business class product.
For those who have experienced these seats, how do you find them?
Window seat passengers get a few windows for themselves.
One noticable observation is the seats are position away from the seat partner so it is not ideal for those who like sitting together.
One can opted to use the mattress provided for extra comfort.
At least you have some storage space between the 2 IFE screens.
Legroom space is good.
The question is will you choose any of the seats over here or the seat on the upper deck?
(Upper Deck)
- 32 seats
- 2-2 seating configuration
- Seat width of 20 inches
- Legroom space of 64 inches
- 17 HD touchscreen Display
- Universal AC and USB-A Sockets are available
- 2 Storage Compartments are available
The upper deck is narrower due to the design of the aircraft. I would personally picked one of the window seats in this section.
These seats will remain in this section even after the refurblishment of the cabins on the lower deck is completed.
Another difference between this seats on this upper deck and the seats on the lower deck is the extra storage space by the side.
The rear view of the cabin
Plenty of legroom space
Window seat passengers get a few window for themselves.
Personally I will choose the last window row for slightly more privacy.
The frotn view of the cabin. This nice cabin crew was on his way to the cockpit to gain permission for me to visit.
While waiting for him, I managed to check out the seat.
It felt comfortable and the legroom space is certainly worth it for long haul flights like this flight.
The nice crew came back with the good news. Thanks again, mate!
Premium Economy
I upgraded my return flight to this class cabin so stay tuned for the return flight to Frankfurt, coming up soon.
- 32 ZIMagic seats
- 2-4-2 configuration
- Seat width of 19 inches with the shoulder width extended to 23 inches
- Can recline up to 8 inches
- Legroom space of 38 inches
- 11.7 HD Touchscreen Display
- Universal AC and USB-A Sockets are available
Notice the first row of the economy class seats, it has plenty of legroom space. (Highly recommended - row 16)
Notice some of the seats have no IFE screen on the back? For passengers sitting behind them, their IFE screen is the retractable type which are stored at the armrest area.
These seats are certainly an upgrade over the economy class.
Legroom space is better.
Only one person to trouble when getting out to use the lavatory.
Cockpit Visit
A big thank you to the crew for allowing me view the cockpit.
Look at how spacious this cockpit is.
For long haul flights like this flight, you usually have either 3 or 4 pilots, 2 active pilots and the spare pilots are used to rotate with the active pilots during the flight. Same story with the cabin crew, they have a crew rotation for this flight and both the cabin and flight crew will head to the crew bunk on this aircraft and rest until their next duty.
The Boeing 747-8I shares the same cockpit as the Boeing 747-400 that means the pilots can fly the 747-8 up and fly back on the 747-400 with some minor differences to be aware of.
This is the Captain seat.
The First office seats on the right side.
Why do Captains sit on the left side?
The early days of aviation plays a big role to this as flying at that time was dominated by propller planes and these planes have a tendency of making left turns due to the torque of the engine therefore more experience pilots sits on the left as left hand traffic patterns usually happen more during that time and the more experienced pilot have better visibility and easier to menuveur on those early generation aircraft. However in today's aviation world, both pilots in the cockpit are able to operate the aircraft from their position whether they are left handed or right handed, they are trained to operate from both seats. So it doesn't matter where the Captain sits but the the tradition continues, the captain sits on the left and the first officer sits on the right side. What happens if 2 Captains are chosen to do this flight? Usually they decide among themselves where they sit. One could sit on the left side for the first leg and the next leg, sit on right side. It depends on them.
Economy Class
- 244 Recaro CL3810 seats
- 3-4-3 seating configuration
- Seat width of 17.3 inches
- Legroom space of 31 inches
- Seat recline up to 6 inches
- 9 inches HD Touchscreen Display
- USB-A and Universal Socket are available
This is my seat 32K. Avoid row 33 as the window seat is windowless.
The middle seats
This seats can be compared to British Airways Boeing 787-9 Economy Class.
Legroom space is 31 inches and it's not too bad.
The windowless seat, 33K.
The first row of the economy class (row 16), see the good amount of legroom space.
The view from my seat with the overhead compartment opened
View of the cabin with the overhead compartment closed
The overview of the cabin
These are the last few rows of the economy class from the rear of the aircraft.
More photos of the seat
The touchscreen response is quite slow.
Unfortunately I had reduced legroom space due to the IFE box.
The old style remote control
I thought the middle seat will remain vacant.
Literature holder and the foldable tray table
Foldable tray table is completely folded out.
Cup holder
As you can see, I had a seat mate beside me. Well, I rather be stuck in the window side than to be in the middle.
The view of the cabin during the flight
The seat in fully reclined mode.
What's provided for each passenger?
Safety Card
Blanket
Pillow
A donation envelope
When I saw this, I got a shock. No one else provides this sort of earphones these days.
A bottle of water
A packet of Pretzel snack bag.
This is Fried Chicken in Thai Pepper Sauce comes with Jasmine Rice and Broccoli for the main course and the set also comes with Chickpea and Carrot Salad and Chocolate Mousse for dessert.
The other choice is Spinish stuffed with Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce and Pearl Onion.
I had a cup of gingle ale for my beverage.
For breakfast, we only had one option: Scramble Eggs with Sweet Potato Ragout which comes with fruit yogurt. Let's put it this way, I have certainly tasted better breakfast than this.
This time I chose a cup of apple juice for my beverage.
Inflight Entertainment System
I was able to navigate the system without issues just that some patience is required when using the touchscreen.
Movie options with limited selection
The interface is slow and to search for the movie of your choice may take a while.
The world map
Safety video
Inflight map
We were climbing to our assigned flight level.
Holafly, I have selected this company's unlimited plan for my 25 days trip in South America.
This is one of the classics - Back to the Future! There are 3 parts to it.
At this point, we were flying along the coast of the South America continent.
With that, our journey came to an end as we finally arrived at EZE Airport.
Lavatory
I waited for almost 20 minutes for the lavatory to be vacant. The queue was not long but its a couple of them at my side took a long time.
The size of the lavatory was alright for me.
There are 4 lavatories at the rear end of the cabin, 2 on each aisle side.
A passageway to connect to the other aisle.
Window view photos
It was raining at that time.
The take off was surprisingly slow as we struggled to lift off due to our heavy weight and according to the Captain, we were a few tonnes below the MTOW (Maximum Take off Weight) limit.
For most parts of the flight, it was smooth.
I managed to grab a few hour sleeps and when I woke up, I got to witness the sun rise.
The raked wing of the 747-8 is similar to the Boeing 777-200LR/-300ER's ones.
The weather was great while flying over Brazil.
It's a pity the window was dirty.
We flew through an area of clouds.
At this point, we started our descent into Buenos Aires.
Flying through the city
Before making a left turn and lining up for runway 11 with ILS approach.
At this time, we were on final approach.
Passing through some residential areas.
We touched down smoothly after 13 hours 44 minutes in the air.
We taxied past a couple of Aerolineas Argentinas and an American Airlines aircraft.
We parked besides a Delta Boeing 767-400ER (N842MH).
My flight summary
Our flight took longer due to the head winds going against us during the flight.
Welcome to Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport!
Thanks for the ride, D-ABYR! This aircraft would rest until the evening before returning back to Frankfurt.
Immigration process didn't take long and soon I was at the landside.
The baggage carousel
This is the arrival hall and it was so crowded.
Off to grab some breakfast.
I went over to Outback steakhouse to enjoy some steak before heading over to my accommodation.
I had the garlic steak with assorted vegetables.
Accompanied with my favourite Mojito drink.
Stay tuned for my next blog post: A Hotel Review in Buenos Aires, coming up next.
My ratings
Airline Website/Mobile App: 3/5
Airport Experience (Frankfurt): 3/5
Inflight Service: 3/5
Seat Comfort: 3/5
Inflight Entertainment: 3/5
Cabin Ambiance: 3/5
Cabin Condition: 3/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Inflight Meal/Beverage: 3/5
Punctuality: 4/5
Overall Rating: 33/50
Percentage: 66%
Conclusion
Despite the shortcomings from the airline's outdated cabin products, I enjoyed the 747 long haul experience from an aviation enthusiast point of view, it is always an exciting aircraft to fly on. As the current market is dominated by twin jets, these new models are built to be able to fly long distance which is what the airlines are looking for. This is where the A350 and B787 comes in, able to operate more efficiently than the 4 engines aircraft but of course the capacity of these aircraft are smaller than the Airbus A380 and boeing 747-8.
Flying on Lufhansa's long haul experience is not as glamourous as flying with the top tier airlines and yet the airticket price can be quite steep. For this flight route I chose, the lack of competition means the German based airline can earn profitably and charge higher especially during the peak period. One thing for sure is I am glad to experience this the 747-8 even being squeezed in the seat for almost 14 hours, however my return flight would be more comfortable. I decided to fork out a reasonable price of EURO $390 to upgrade to the Premium Economy Class and more on that in part 2.
My recommandation is to observe the seat map until to the few days before departure, if the good seats are snapped up quickly, I suggest to pay for the seats or if you don't want to worry about seat selection, you can opt for the economy standard seat which includes seat assignment. From my experience, I waited until the day before check-in when the seats (excluding the front rows) are available for free. The premium economy class is sandwiched between the economy class cabin - quite a different configuration that I am used to and I didn't opt for the economy class front seat is I had to cough out Euro $55 and even check in time, I had to pay for it so not worth the money and besides the position of the seat is located somewhere in the middle of the wing, so I don't get much view of the scenery at that position.
I will do an overall view of Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 in part 2, coming up soon. Hope you enjoy this trip report!
For my previous trip report (Qatar Airways DOH-FRA), click here
For the airport hotel review at Frankfurt Airport, click here
Next blog post: My hotel review in the heart of Buenos Aires, stay tuned!
Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Charles
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