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Air China is set to reinstate its Boeing 747-8 service to Washington Dulles, marking a significant development in the dwindling network of this iconic aircraft. This route will become the world's longest 747-operated passenger service by time, although not by distance.
Beginning March 11, China's flag carrier will operate the four-class, 365- seat "Queen of the Skies" to Dulles, replacing the three-class, 311-seat Boeing 777-300ER. This switch represents a 17% increase in available seats per flight and introduces premium economy seating options.
"While the equipment switch means 17% more seats for sale per flight, it is more significant than that," said an industry observer. The new configuration includes 66 premium economy seats and increases first-class and business-class seats to 12 and 54 respectively. Conversely, economy seats will decrease from 261 to 233.
