Air China's first Boeing 747-8i takes to the skies this week, with an all-new interior created for the Chinese flag carrier by JPA Design.

The 747-8i – essentially a stretched next-gen version of the popular Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet – contains first, business, premium economy and economy class across a total of 365 seats.

The first class cabin (shown below) is located in a unique position on the main deck, nestled behind business class and sitting just ahead of the wings and the premium economy cabin.

There are three rows of 12 seats in a 1-2-1 arrangement.

The 54 business class seats are shared between the nose of the main deck...

... and the entirity of the upper deck, which offers a more exclusive 'private jet' feel.


Most of these lie-flat sleepers are arranged in a staggered 2-2 configuration, except for a mini-cabin ahead of first class where the jumbo's wider body allows for two rows of a 2-2-2 layout.

Air China's Boeing 747-8i premium economy cabin numbers 66 seats right over the wing, in a 3-4-3 layout.

Economy class stretches from there back to the tail, with 233 seats adopting the same 3-4-3 grid but with 32-33 inches of pitch compared to premium economy's 38 inches.

JPA worked with Chinese artist Han Meilin to create the new Air China interior design, which features two artworks created by Han for the airline – dubbed 'Phoenix In Flight' and 'Cloud' – along with earthen tile patterns referenced through the cabin to reference Air China's cultural heritage.

The same design will also be seen on Air China's new fleet of fifteen Boeing 787-9 jets, due for delivery from 2016.

"The design in the new cabin interior sets out to tell a story," explains JPA Design, "where the passenger is carried on the wings of the phoenix flying high in the sky and with a sense of being surrounded by clouds."

"These soft dream-like images feature throughout the cabin on the wall laminates, on the seat covers and across the inflight soft goods."

"Carpets and lavatory floorings display the earthen tile design, referencing stability and a solid surface showing 'the earth at your feet'."

Also read: Air China's first Boeing 747-8 routes – Guangzhou, Frankfurt 

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