Service entry and operations

Northwest Airlines placed the 747-400 into service in February 1989.

The first 747-400 was delivered to launch customer Northwest Airlines on January 26, 1989, with service entry on February 9 with a flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix.^[18] This was the twentieth anniversary of the 747-100's first flight. On May 31, 1989, Singapore Airlines operated the first international service using a 747-400, on a flight from Singapore to London.^[19]

In May 1989, one week before the initial delivery to the 747-400's first European customer, KLM, the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) shocked Boeing by refusing to grant regulatory certification for the aircraft, citing the upper deck cabin floor's resistance to collapse in the event of a sudden decompression.^[15] While the manufacturer asserted that the 747-400's cabin floor was no different than the already-certified and in-service 747-300, the JAA maintained that the newer model would have a service life into 2020 and beyond and was thus subject to a newer, more stringent standard which had been updated to reflect the risk of explosive devices.^[20] In the days leading up to the first delivery to KLM, negotiations between Boeing, the FAA, and the JAA resulted in a compromise: a temporary operating certificate would be issued for the 747-400, provided that the manufacturer develop a structural retrofit for the aircraft within two years.^[20] The last-minute deal allowed KLM and Lufthansa to take delivery of their 747-400s without further delays.^[20]

After the first 747-400 deliveries, Boeing began production on additional variants of the aircraft. The first 747-400 Combi, able to carry both passengers and freight, was rolled out in June 1989.^[20]The 747-400 Domestic, a short-range variant of the aircraft designed for Japanese intra-island services, first flew on March 18, 1991 and entered service with Japan Airlines on October 22, 1991. A cargo variant, the 747-400F, was first delivered in May 1993 to Cargolux.^[20] By the end of the 1990s, Boeing was producing four versions of the 747-400.

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