The Boeing 747-8 is set to make its debut travel around China and to several points in the United States, with Air China becoming the first airline to make use of the world's longest aircraft.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese airline is the very first to put the longest aircraft into commercial use after it was acquired by the company early in October this year.
The Boeing 747-8 has made its debut travel in domestic flights Monday, Nov. 10, from the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
Thursday last week, Air China has announced that the 365-seater 747-8 plane has been set to travel the Beijing-San Francisco and Beijing-New York routes by Jan. 2015.
Reports also revealed that the aircraft will soon be traveling from Beijing to several points in China including Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The airline has ordered a total of seven Boeing 747-8 passenger jets, many of which are expected to arrive in China by the end of 2015.
As of today, the Boeing 747-8 is the largest passenger aircraft to ever operate from Chengdu. It has a total length of 76.4 meters.
Developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the 747-8 wide-body jet liner was introduced in 2005 as the third generation of the Boeing 747, enhanced with redesigned wings, lengthened fuselage and improved efficiency.
It has been dubbed as the biggest commercial aircraft manufactured in the United States and the world's longest passenger plane ever created.
The third generation Boeing 747-8 has two variants named the 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8I) designed to house passengers and the 747-8 Freighter (747-8F) for cargo.