The Egyptian government has a stake in a former Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 that will operate as the future Egyptian executive aircraft. The plane last week flew to Shannon, Ireland for a proper livery by International Aerospace Coating (IAC). The 747-8i will replace a 28-year-old Airbus A340 registered as SU-GGG.

How did the Egyptian government obtain a 747-8i

See, back in 2011, Boeing was building a fleet of new technology 747-8s for German airline Lufthansa. But Boeing needed a test aircraft and requested that one of the 20 Lufthansa ordered remain in the United States for flight testing and demonstrations. That one was MSN 37826, which was supposed to be registered as D-ABYE instead registered as N828BA.

Back in 2015, BOEFamilyFlights noted N828BA was having some test flights from Paine Field but eventually was stored at Pinal Airpark. N828BA returned to Paine Field in 2017, took another test flight in early 2018, but afterward was ferried to Victorville for long-term storage.

Fast-forward to the fall of 2021. The 747-8i has a new registration of SU-EGY and, after some Paine Field testing, was ferried to Hamburg, Germany for a new interior. Lufthansa Technik is a maintenance, completions, repair, and overhaul services powerhouse across the aviation industry was hired for the interior refit as the company does refit airplanes for VIP transport use. Same Lufthansa Technik that refitted two A321LRs for the German Luftwaffe to serve as a multi-role passenger transport recently.

As many airlines go to the two-engine model of airliner due to the increased reliability of modern turbofans and lower fuel burn of two engines versus four – four-engine jets are becoming rarer and rarer around airports. Hence it was easy for Lufthansa to unload this 747-8i to another customer, one that, with the proliferation of hand-held surface-to-air missiles like the FIM-92 Stinger and the SA-18 Igla, would feel better having an airframe with four engines to increase survivability.

Other nations using the 747-8 for executive transport

Egypt is far from the only country using the Boeing 747-8 for executive transport, according to ch-aviation.com. The United States of America has ordered two to replace their current 747-200 Air Force Ones. Plus South Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Turkey will or are using 747-8 variants to transport their government executives.

Discover more aviation news here.

How and where will Egypt’s new 747 be painted

The 747-8i will be painted by IAC in Shannon, Ireland. IAC Aircraft Painting recently built a second hangar big enough to accommodate the only jetliner larger than the 747-8i in the Airbus A380 in 2020. According to Flying in Ireland, it will be a 92,000-square-foot facility that will be the airport’s tenth hangar. The tenth hangar also;

Involves the construction of a steel-framed widebody aircraft paint hangar and internal ancillary office space, workshops, plant rooms, and storage space. It will be the only hangar in Ireland capable of accommodating multiple aircraft types up to and including the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Over 190 meters of new taxiway to facilitate aircraft movements is also being undertaken as part of the project.

STAR WARS 737 HEADING DOWN THE PDX RUNWAY
Here's the Alaska Airlines Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort - one of the more famous paint jobs by IAC of late. Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying

Worth noting that IAC also, at another hangar of theirs, painted the Alaska Airlines “Star Wars Transport to the Disneyland Resort” Boeing 737-800. Plus, the Allegiant Airlines special livery for the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey team.

Ultimately once the aircraft is painted, then the Egyptians will be able to finally utilize the very lightly used Boeing 747-8.

Do you wish your nation would use a 747-8 for executive transport? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Flying in Ireland,