The test programme involves three aircraft with 1,600 hours of flight and 2,100 hours of ground testing. The first flight test aircraft with be delivered to Cargolux and the remaining two to Nippon Cargo Airlines after certification, when Boeing will have 15 747-8s completed.
The second aircraft for Cargolux was scheduled for painting in late March and a third will be completed on 14 April. The next two on the production line were purchased by lessor Guggenheim Aviation Partners and will bear the livery of Korean Air Cargo which has its own order for five, while Korean Air has ordered five 747-8Is. The first Intercontinental will begin production 24 May.