A China Airlines Delay and an Unexpected Boeing 747-8i Prestige Class Upgrade

Korean Air's Prestige Class aboard the Boeing 747-8i is one of the rarest business class experiences left in commercial aviation — only 48 of these jets were ever built for passenger service, and most have already been retired. I got to fly the upper deck purely by accident, and this is the full story of how it happened, what the seat and cabin were like, and why this aircraft is disappearing from the skies.

I've been on dozens of flights over the years, but this was the one time I was genuinely chuffed about a delay.

It was November 2019, and I was heading back to Korea after three years living in Thailand. The original plan was simple enough: China Airlines business class from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, a transit stop in Taipei at Taoyuan International Airport, then onward to Incheon Airport. When the check-in staff at Suvarnabhumi told me the Bangkok–Taipei leg was delayed and I'd miss my Taipei–Incheon connection, I was pretty annoyed. All they said was that the situation would be sorted once I got to Taipei.

Suvarnabhumi Airport China Airlines check-in counter with delay notification on screen

I boarded the Taipei flight anyway, and to their credit, the China Airlines cabin crew on that leg were really impressive. Passengers were understandably on edge because of the delay, but the crew walked through the cabin individually explaining the connecting flight situation to each affected traveller. It wasn't even their job — they were working the Bangkok–Taipei segment — but they went around with genuinely concerned expressions saying, "It'll definitely be sorted in Taipei." That eased my nerves a fair bit. I landed at Taoyuan and headed straight to the China Airlines service counter. The staff apologised and handed me a replacement ticket. I looked down at it: Korean Air, Boeing 747-8i, Prestige Class. For context, Korean Air's Prestige Class is their brand name for business class — same tier, different label. Anyway, the 747-8i in Prestige. Every ounce of annoyance about the delay vanished on the spot.

Replacement Korean Air Boeing 747-8i Prestige Class boarding pass issued at Taoyuan International Airport

Why the Boeing 747-8i Is One of Aviation's Rarest Passenger Jets

The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is the final passenger variant of the 747 series — the aircraft nicknamed the "Queen of the Skies" and arguably the most iconic commercial jet in aviation history. Only 48 were ever built for passenger service before Boeing ended production entirely in 2017, making it one of the rarest wide-body jets you can still fly on today.

Lufthansa was the first airline to operate it commercially in 2012, and Korean Air became one of the largest operators worldwide, running 10 of them at the time of my flight in 2019.

But here's what makes the rarity truly hit home. As I write this in 2026, the situation has shifted dramatically. Only three airlines in the entire world still fly the 747-8i with regular passengers on board: Lufthansa with 19, Air China with 7, and Korean Air with roughly 5. That's it. Just a few years ago, Korean Air had 10. They sold five of them — and where those five ended up is a pretty wild story I'll get to at the end.

The 747-8i isn't just flown by commercial airlines either. Several governments use it as a head-of-state aircraft. South Korea's presidential jet, known as "Code One," is a long-term leased Korean Air 747-8i. The next-generation US Air Force One (designated VC-25B) is also based on the 747-8 platform and currently under construction. Brunei, Morocco, Kuwait, and Turkey all operate VIP-configured 747-8is for their leaders, and a Qatar royal family jet was reported as potentially becoming a temporary Air Force One after being gifted to President Trump in 2025. In other words, this is a plane that doubles as both a regular commercial airliner and an airborne office for world leaders. Getting rebooked onto one because of a flight delay? Yeah, I still can't believe my luck that day.

How Rare Is the Boeing 747-8i?

Total Built (Passenger Version): 48 worldwide — production ended in 2017

Airlines Still Flying It (2026): Lufthansa (19) / Air China (7) / Korean Air (~5) — only 3 airlines globally

Government/VIP Operators: South Korea (Code One), USA (VC-25B under construction), Brunei, Morocco, Kuwait, Turkey, Qatar Royal Family

Nickname: Queen of the Skies — the last passenger model in the Boeing 747 series

Sources: Simple Flying, Gate Checked, Wikipedia, Planespotters.net, official government announcements (as of April 2026)

Korean Air Boeing 747-8i Prestige Class Key Specs

Aircraft: Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8i)

Total Seats: 368 (First 6 / Prestige 48 / Economy 314)

Upper Deck Prestige Layout: 2-2 staggered (~22 seats)

Main Deck Prestige Layout: 2-2-2 (~26 seats)

Seat Pitch: 75 inches / 191 cm

Seat Width: 21 inches / 53 cm

Bed Mode Length: ~72 inches / 183 cm

Recline: 180° full-flat

Seat Manufacturer: B/E Aerospace (now Collins Aerospace)

Monitor: 17-inch HD touchscreen + secondary screen built into the remote

Power: 110V AC outlet + USB-A port

Sources: SeatMaps.com, Business Traveller, Korean Air official website

Walkway through Korean Air 747-8i main deck Prestige Class cabin leading to the upper deck staircase

Boarding the Boeing 747-8i and Climbing the Upper Deck Staircase

The moment you step through the L1 door of a Boeing 747, there's a distinctive cabin smell that hits you — a mix of new-aircraft scent and in-flight meal prep. If you fly often, you'll know the one. It's the smell that makes it all feel real. Straight ahead was the main deck Prestige Class section, but my seat was upstairs on the upper deck. I walked through the main deck cabin towards the rear and found the staircase leading up to the second level. Climbing those stairs — the ones that are practically synonymous with the 747 itself — was a genuinely exciting moment.

Worth noting: Korean Air hadn't yet completed their cabin interior refresh at the time, so if you've flown them more recently, the colour scheme would look a bit different to what I saw. Back in 2019, the vibe was deep navy blue and beige tones throughout.

Corridor through Korean Air 747-8i main deck Prestige Class section toward the iconic upper deck staircase

Korean Air 747-8i Upper Deck Prestige Class Seat — First Impressions

Korean Air's upper deck Prestige Class on the 747-8i features a 2-2 staggered configuration with around 22 seats — noticeably more spacious and quieter than the 2-2-2 layout on the main deck below. Think of it like the difference between a regular hotel room and a corner suite: same hotel, but the feeling of space is on another level entirely.

I found my window seat and settled in. Almost immediately, the cabin crew member assigned to my section came over, greeted me by name, and thanked me for flying with them. Keep in mind, I was a last-minute rebooking from a different airline — but they treated me as though I'd been a confirmed Prestige passenger all along. Coming right off the back of that warm service from the China Airlines crew, it struck me how consistently good Asian carriers are at this. Whenever overseas mates ask me why I rate Korean airlines so highly, crew service is always the first thing I mention.

Korean Air Boeing 747-8i upper deck Prestige Class 2-2 configuration window seat overview with deep blue upholstery

75-Inch Seat Pitch — Not Far Off First Class in Feel

No exaggeration: at 75 inches (191 cm) of seat pitch, you can sit there and your legs don't touch anything in front of you. I'd previously used frequent flyer points to fly Korean Air First Class, and the gap in how it actually felt was surprisingly small. First Class has 83 inches (211 cm) — an 8-inch difference on paper — but because you can fully extend your legs and rest them on the footrest in Prestige, the real-world difference feels narrower than the numbers suggest. It helped that I'd just come off a China Airlines 777-300ER business class seat on the previous leg, so the jump in spaciousness when I sat down in the 747-8i upper deck was immediately noticeable.

Legs stretched out in Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class lie-flat seat showing generous legroom to footrest

I stretched my legs out fully and still couldn't reach the end. For reference, I'm 178 cm tall. I spent most of the flight in exactly this position watching a film, and two hours honestly felt like a waste of such a good seat.

Full leg extension in Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class seat with feet not reaching the end at 178 cm height

Four Windows All to Yourself — The Real Perk of an Upper Deck Window Seat

The other major win with the window seat was the number of windows. I had four of them. In economy, you're lucky to get one window per seat — here I had four to myself, which gave a panoramic view out the side of the aircraft. The upper deck window seats also benefit from the 747's distinctive curved fuselage wall, which creates a cosy, enclosed feeling. Underneath that curved wall, there's a deep personal storage nook — big enough to fit a full-sized backpack without any trouble.

Four cabin windows at Korean Air 747-8i upper deck Prestige Class window seat showing Taoyuan Airport runway lights at night

Before departure, the view through those four windows was Taoyuan Airport at night — runway lights stretching out in every direction. Looking at the airport panorama through four frames of glass, I'd already completely forgotten about being annoyed by the delay.

No smoking sign and seatbelt indicator lights inside Korean Air 747-8i cabin

Oh, and this is a small thing — the no-smoking sign and seatbelt indicator. Turbulence can hit without warning, so keeping your belt fastened even when the sign's off is always a good idea. I'll be honest though, the design of these indicator lights looked a bit dated. It was 2019 and I remember thinking "really?" Newer aircraft like the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 have electronic window dimming and much sleeker overhead signage. The 747-8i may be the final evolution of the 747 line, but the basic design traces back to the 1960s, and some of those vintage bones show through in details like this.

In-Flight Entertainment and the Remote Control Air Show

Wired remote control unit attached to Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class seat armrest

A wired remote control was attached to the seat armrest. Because of the generous seat pitch in Prestige, the main monitor is actually too far away to reach by hand. There's a 17-inch HD touchscreen mounted in front, but in practice you end up using this remote for everything.

Korean Air Beyond Entertainment in-flight entertainment main menu screen showing 2019 interface

This was the Korean Air in-flight entertainment system's main screen. It's the 2019 interface so it may look different now, but the content library — films, music, games — was more than adequate.

Air Show real-time flight tracker displayed on built-in remote control screen in Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class

Here's where it got neat: the remote had its own built-in screen displaying the Air Show — a real-time flight tracker showing the aircraft's current position. So you could have a movie playing on the big monitor while keeping tabs on the flight path in your hand. We'd just departed Taipei, and the outline of Taiwan was clearly visible on the map.

Air Show screen on Korean Air 747-8i remote showing flight path passing Okinawa heading toward Jeju

It tracked us in real time as we passed over Okinawa and headed toward Jeju. Watching the route unfold, I suddenly thought of the flight I'd taken three years earlier when I left Korea. Back then I was crammed into the last row of economy. Now I was tracing the same route in reverse from the upper deck of a 747 Prestige cabin. Funny how things work out.

Full Taipei to Incheon flight route on Air Show display with speed altitude and remaining distance data

The full flight route from Taipei to Incheon, complete with speed, altitude, and distance remaining. If you're the type who likes checking those numbers during a flight — and I definitely am — this kind of detail is a treat.

Sealed headset in plastic wrapping placed on Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class seat

A sealed headset was waiting on the seat, but the flight was short enough that I never even opened it. I'm honestly one of those people who finds the Air Show map more entertaining than any in-flight movie, so I didn't feel like I missed out.

The Personal Reading Light in a Darkened Cabin

Personal reading light switched on during night flight in Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class with no light spill to adjacent seat

This was an unexpectedly nice touch. It was a night flight, so the entire cabin was dark. I switched on the personal reading light and it cast a soft, focused glow over just my space — no light bleeding into the neighbouring seat at all. In a darkened cabin, that single warm light made the whole area feel genuinely cosy. Whether that's a Prestige thing or a 747-8i thing, I'm not sure, but it was noticeably different from the harsh reading lights in economy.

180° Lie-Flat Seat — The Core of Korean Air's Prestige Class

Seat adjustment control panel for lie-flat positioning on Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class armrest

The lie-flat seat is the centrepiece of the Prestige Class experience. Using the control panel on the armrest, you can adjust the backrest angle, leg rest, and full recline with fine-grained precision. Not all business class seats go completely flat — some airlines and aircraft types only offer angled-flat seats that stop a few degrees short of horizontal. Korean Air's 747-8i Prestige goes the full 180 degrees. The bed extends to roughly 72 inches (183 cm), long enough for most adult men to lie down with legs fully extended.

When you press the button, the motor gives a gentle whirr as the backrest slowly lowers. It took about 10 seconds to reach full horizontal. Once flat, the cushioning was surprisingly plush — not firm or board-like at all. The flight was only around two and a half hours, so I didn't get a proper sleep, but on a long-haul route? You'd absolutely get a solid night's rest in this setup.

Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class lie-flat seat fully reclined to 180 degrees with blanket draped and monitor on

Here it is fully reclined. Blanket on, monitor glowing — for a moment, you genuinely forget you're on an aircraft.

Personal storage shelf beneath the upper deck window seat on Korean Air 747-8i with room for a full backpack

This is the personal storage shelf beneath the upper deck window seat. It exists because of the 747's curved fuselage creating that extra pocket of space along the wall. Dead handy for anything you want quick access to during the flight — saves you getting up to rummage through the overhead bin.

In-Flight Meal — Korean Air's Signature Bibimbap

Warm towel served before the Prestige Class in-flight meal on Korean Air 747-8i

Korean Air's Prestige Class in-flight meal on short-haul routes is a simpler affair than the multi-course spread you'd get on a long-haul flight, but it still includes a hot meal and proper service. As soon as the seatbelt sign switched off, the crew began with drinks — not a casual "what would you like?" but a full menu brought to my seat. Even on a short hop, they didn't skip the formalities. I asked for orange juice, and it arrived in a glass on a napkin, placed down with precise, unhurried movements. The meal service followed straight after. First up: a warm towel.

Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class short-haul in-flight meal tray setup with bibimbap selection

For a short-haul Prestige Class flight, the meal was definitely scaled back compared to the full starter-main-dessert courses on long-haul. I went with Korean Air's signature dish: bibimbap.

Korean Air Prestige Class bibimbap vegetable set with zucchini bean sprouts spinach mushroom balloon flower root bracken and beef in individual containers

The bibimbap toppings arrived in individual containers — zucchini, bean sprouts, spinach, mushroom, balloon flower root (doraji), bracken fern (gosari), and beef. You mix it all together with gochujang (Korean chilli paste). The crew member setting it up asked, "Do you like a lot of gochujang?" — a small question, but the kind that turns a meal service into an actual dining experience. For airline food, the vegetables were in solid condition. I'll be honest though: compared to the China Airlines business class meal I'd had on the previous leg, the overall spread felt a touch modest. That said, the China Airlines flight was about four hours, and this one was barely two and a half, so it's not really a fair comparison.

Korean Air branded instant rice with evenly cooked sticky grains served alongside bibimbap

The rice came as Korean Air's own branded instant rice. I was a bit sceptical at first, but the grains were evenly cooked and sticky — honestly better than rice cooked from scratch in a galley kitchen. Apparently, Korean Air uses the same method for their long-haul bibimbap as well.

Bibimbap Side Dishes and Dried Pollack Soup

On the side were gim (Korean roasted seaweed), pickled onion, and spicy radish salad (musaengchae). Crumble the gim into the bibimbap for a nutty kick, use the pickled onion to cleanse your palate between bites, and the spicy radish salad adds a crunchy, peppery contrast. I've heard international passengers are particularly fond of the gim — it's one of those addictive little extras that makes Korean Air's meal service distinctive.

Gim Korean roasted seaweed served alongside Korean Air Prestige Class bibimbap

Pickled onion side dish accompanying Korean Air in-flight bibimbap

Spicy radish salad musaengchae served as bibimbap side dish on Korean Air business class tray

Dried pollack soup hwangtaeguk served in Korean Air Prestige Class with clear delicate broth

The soup was hwangtaeguk — dried pollack soup. Light, clean, and delicate, it paired perfectly with the bibimbap. All up, it was a modest but comforting meal. For a short-haul route, getting a hot meal at all in business class is a win — on ultra-short routes like Incheon to Fukuoka, even Prestige passengers only get a cold meal.

Landing at Incheon — Setting Foot in Korea After Three Years

Darkened Korean Air 747-8i Prestige Class cabin after meal service with lie-flat seat prepared for sleep

After the bibimbap, drowsiness started to set in. The cabin lights went off. I reclined the seat fully, closed my eyes, and what felt like barely a minute later, I opened them to find we were already past Jeju. Gutting. I would've happily spent another 10 hours in that seat, but reality was a two-and-a-half-hour short-haul.

Night city lights of Korea visible through Korean Air 747-8i window on approach to Incheon Airport

City lights started appearing through the windows. After three years in Thailand, these particular lights just hit different. It felt like coming home.

Incheon Airport southern approach night view with orange harbour lights and city skyline across the water

This is the view you always get approaching Incheon from the south — orange lights scattered across the water, with the city skyline glowing behind them. I've seen it many times, and it never gets old. That was the moment it properly sank in: I'm back in Korea.

We touched down at Incheon without a hitch.

Flight Details Summary

Date: November 2019

Route: Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) → Incheon (ICN)

Airline: Korean Air — rebooked from China Airlines due to delay

Aircraft: Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8i)

Class: Prestige Class (Business Class)

Seat Location: Upper deck window

Flight Duration: Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes

Time of Day: Night

In-Flight Meal: Bibimbap + Dried Pollack Soup (Hwangtaeguk)

Looking Back Six Years Later

I'm writing this in 2026. It's been over six years since that flight, and the reason I'm finally putting this review together is that the Korean Air 747-8i is about to disappear from the skies for good.

At the time, I just thought I'd gotten lucky with a nice seat. But as the years passed, I started to realise how genuinely special that flight was. The upper deck business class of one of only 48 passenger 747-8is ever made — and I got it as a delay rebooking.

The crew service sticks with me, too. Both the China Airlines crew and the Korean Air crew that day weren't just polite — they genuinely seemed to care about each individual passenger. It's the reason Korean carriers consistently rate so highly overseas. Korean Air has maintained Skytrax 5-Star airline status for five consecutive years since then, and in 2026 they picked up the APEX Best Cabin Service award as well. The service I experienced on that unplanned replacement flight in 2019 wasn't a one-off — it's apparently just their standard.

The spacious 2-2 layout on the upper deck, four windows to yourself, 75 inches of seat pitch, and a 180-degree lie-flat bed. It was only a two-and-a-half-hour flight, but every minute felt precious because the seat was that good.

If I had to name the downsides, there are two. The flight was too short, and the short-haul meal was too simple. If I'd been on this same seat to the US or Europe — a proper long-haul run — I'd have had a full-course meal and eight hours of sleep. But that'll have to wait for another chance.

Korean Air's 747-8i Retirement and Its Transformation Into America's Doomsday Plane

And that next chance is slipping away fast. Korean Air has been actively retiring its 747-8i fleet since 2025. In May 2024, the airline sold five of its 747-8is to US defence contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation for approximately A$1.04 billion (US$675 million). According to CNN and other international outlets, those five jets are being converted into the next-generation "Doomsday Plane" — officially the Survivable Airborne Operations Center — replacing the ageing E-4B Nightwatch. These are the aircraft designed to serve as an airborne Pentagon in the event of a nuclear war or national emergency. Planes where regular passengers once ate bibimbap and watched movies are now being reborn as America's ultimate national survival aircraft. The thought that the very airframe I flew on might be one of them gives me a strange feeling I can't quite shake.

From December 2024, routes like Incheon–Atlanta began switching from the 747-8i to the 777-300ER, and the remaining aircraft are being phased out progressively. One continues to serve as the South Korean presidential jet (Code One).

Korean Air Boeing 747-8i Retirement Timeline

2012: Korean Air begins operating the 747-8i (10 aircraft total)

2021: Chairman Cho Won-tae tells FlightGlobal the 747-8i will be retired within 10 years

January 2022: 1 aircraft enters long-term lease as South Korea's presidential jet (Code One)

May 2024: 5 aircraft sold to Sierra Nevada Corporation for ~A$1.04 billion — to be converted into the USAF's next-generation Doomsday Plane

December 2024: Incheon–Atlanta (ATL) and other long-haul routes begin switching to 777-300ER

March 2025: Additional routes begin 747-8i replacement operations

April 2026: Korean Air passenger fleet down to ~5, plus 1 presidential aircraft

Sources: FlightGlobal, Gate Checked, Simple Flying, CNN, YTN, News Tomato

The era of the Queen of the Skies is winding down. Only three airlines worldwide still operate the 747-8i for passenger service — Lufthansa, Air China, and Korean Air — and Korean Air's fleet is shrinking fast. There's a real chance this post ends up as a record of a flight experience that's no longer possible.

If there are still Korean Air 747-8i routes operating when you read this, I'd genuinely recommend booking one while you can. The upper deck window seat in particular is an experience no other modern aircraft can replicate. Once the 747 disappears from commercial service entirely, the only double-decker wide-body left will be the Airbus A380 — and that's being phased out too. Sitting on the upper deck of a 747 with four windows all to yourself while cruising at altitude? The window for that experience is closing rapidly. Honestly, I'd happily pay full fare to do it one more time — I'm just not sure the plane will still be around when I get the chance.

This post was originally published on https://hi-jsb.blog.

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