They’ll hold a lot of one way illegals if configured properly, wasn’t he looking for a few planes just to use for that recently?
That was my first thought as well.
Yank the First Class and Business Class seats and replace them with Coach seating and you might get 500+ illegals per trip.
And what Air Force Pilot wouldn't want some hours in a 747-800?
If they already have the most efficient engines installed it could save some money over charted flights.