Despite being the second 747-8I aircraft model produced for delivery to a customer, it never reached its original owner, Lufthansa. Instead, it was parked for more than a decade before meeting its fate.
It remains a mystery why the German company gave up on the 1435-series aircraft, which will eventually join Egypt’s official government fleet. This week the aircraft flew to Ireland, where it will be painted. Photographer Donal Morrissey recorded a photo of its arrival and shared it on his Twitter feed.
Egyptian Government @Boeing 747-830 SU-EGY arriving @ShannonAirport this evening for painting @IAC_Ltd #avgeek #aviation #airtravel #government #Egyptian #Painting #Boeing #planespotting #Shannonairport #iac pic.twitter.com/Fm43WQy4bw
— Birrlad (Donal Morrissey) ???????? ✈???? (@birrlad) August 26, 2022
For reasons that were never made clear, Lufthansa received only 19 747-8I out of an original order of twenty. This aircraft was to fly under the D-ABYE registration, but that never happened. As a result, the aircraft produced in 2011 went back into Boeing’s hands, and briefly got test ID N6067U and then N828BA in 2014, when it was placed in storage.
It was not until 2021 that the aircraft appeared as sold to a customer, whose identity was not disclosed. The discovery of its fate was only possible later, when photographers recorded the aircraft still in the United States, but already with the Egyptian registration SU-EGY.
According to our media partner Aeroin, the 11.3-year-old aircraft passed through different storage locations, such as Marana Pinal Air Park, San Antonio Lack Land Air Force Base and Victorville in Southern California, before returning to Paine Field for delivery preparations. Cabin modifications, meanwhile, were carried out at Hamburg Airport for nearly 10 months before the aircraft is transported to Shannon.
The aircraft is expected to receive its new paint scheme and fly to Egypt in a few days. The African country’s government currently has a nearly 29-year-old Airbus A340-200, used for long-haul travel, which is to be replaced by the 747-8I.
