Boeing 747 payload and range explorer
An interactive comparison of every 747 variant's range, capacity and weight, drawn from Boeing's airport-planning manuals via the site's specifications page.
Interactive tools can quietly invent data. This one does not: every figure below is taken from the Boeing 747 specifications, which in turn cites Boeing’s airport-planning manuals. There is no modelled or interpolated performance curve — only the numbers the manufacturer published.
Pick a variant to see its documented figures, or compare the whole family at a glance. Range is quoted for a typical passenger load; the freighter figures are at maximum payload. Nothing here is interpolated.
Passenger range at a glance
Bars show each variant's documented maximum range. Select a bar to load its details above.
Freighters: range at maximum payload
| Variant | Max payload | Range | MTOW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 747-8F | 308,000 lb (139,700 kg) | 4,390 nmi | 987,000 lb |
| 747-400F | ~248,000 lb (112,600 kg) | 4,445 nmi | 875,000 lb |
A freighter's useful range is the range it has when full, which is why the freighter figures look shorter than the passenger aircraft's. The747-400 vs 747-8 comparison and thefull specification tables carry the detail.
How to read the chart
The passenger bars show each variant’s documented maximum range at a typical passenger load. Two things stand out.
First, the 747SP beats aircraft from later generations despite being the smallest and oldest design in the comparison. That was its entire purpose: a shorter fuselage and a lighter airframe meant more fuel per seat, which bought range when range was the hard part.
Second, the gains flatten after the 747-400. The 400ER added body fuel tanks for a modest increase, and the 747-8 added a new wing and new engines for the largest range in the family. Each step cost far more than the one before it.
Why the freighter figures look different
The freighter table quotes range at maximum payload. A freighter loading 308,000 lb of cargo into a 747-8F has already spent most of its 987,000 lb takeoff weight before fuel is added; flown lighter, the same aircraft flies further. This is why the 747-400ERF spent its weight increase on fuel and the -8F spent it on payload — two different answers to the same question, covered on the specifications page and in 747-8I vs 747-8F.
Related
- Full specifications — every dimension and weight
- 747-400 vs 747-8 — the generational jump
- The 747 family — every variant in detail
Frequently asked questions
- Which Boeing 747 has the longest range?
- The 747-8 Intercontinental, at 7,730 nmi (14,310 km), narrowly ahead of the 747-400ER's 7,670 nmi. The short-fuselage 747SP is the outlier of its generation: it carried the fewest passengers but flew furthest, at 5,830 nmi.
- Why do freighters quote a much shorter range?
- Freighter range is quoted at maximum payload, not maximum fuel. A freighter that is full of cargo cannot also be full of fuel, so its useful range is the one it achieves at its payload limit.
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