Lufthansa, the national carrier of Germany, has become the first airline in the world to take delivery of a Boeing 747-8 with the landing of the new “Jumbo” in Frankfurt today (May 2).

After the handover at Boeing’s manufacturing facility in Everett, Washington, 747-8 with the registration D-ABYA performed a touch and go at Hamburg Airport, where Lufthansa Technik is based, before flying on to its future home base in Frankfurt.

On June 1, the world’s first passenger flight with a Boeing 747-8 aircraft will depart from Frankfurt as flight LH 418 bound for Washington Dulles International Airport in the US capital, Washington DC.

“We are looking forward to welcoming the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental to our long-haul fleet. In future we will offer our passengers on board this completely newly developed long-haul aircraft an exclusive travel experience and the comfort of our new Business Class,” said Lufthansa Executive Board member Carsten Spohr.

“The Boeing 747-8 is characterised by lower noise emissions, lower fuel consumption and significantly reduced CO2 emissions. That enables us to combine maximum comfort with sustainability.”

“We are proud to celebrate this important milestone together with Lufthansa, our partner of more than 50 years and the launch customer for the new 747-8 Intercontinental,” said Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager 747, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Lufthansa has contributed greatly to this new and efficient aircraft. And Lufthansa passengers will experience a new level of comfort on the 747-8 Intercontinental, which is truly the Queen of the Skies for the 21st century.”

When the new 747-8 enters scheduled service on June 1, Lufthansa passengers will have their first opportunity to experience the new Business Class. The new seat offers exceptional comfort for passengers in a sitting or recumbent position, intuitive adjustment features, additional storage space and an individual entertainment system with much larger, 15-inch screens.

At the press of a button, the seat converts into a comfortable bed with a horizontal sleeping surface measuring 1.98 metres in length. The aircraft also features an entirely new seating arrangement in the form of a “V”. Two neighbouring seats are angled towards one another along a central axis. This virtually doubles the distance at shoulder level between the seats, giving Business Class passengers even more privacy.

For the first time, First Class passengers will be seated in the front section of the main deck, the quietest part of the aircraft. On the B747-8, this area is exceptionally quiet – thanks to the outer skin insulation, sound-absorbing curtains, which minimise specific noises, and the sound-deadening material used in the aircraft flooring.

Each of the eight First Class seats can be converted into a lie-flat bed, which is 2.07 metres long and 80 cm wide, enabling passengers to enjoy a deep, relaxing sleep.

The Boeing 747-8 is a completely new aircraft that builds upon the positive features of the Boeing 747 series, which has been Lufthansa’s long-haul workhorse for the past 40 years.

The aircraft boasts significantly improved aerodynamics and newly developed wingtips, and also provides tangible improvements in terms of eco-efficiency. The Gent GEnx-2B engines use less fuel and achieve a substantial 15 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per passenger. In addition, noise emissions have been reduced by 30 per cent.

The Boeing 747-8 is 76.3 metres long, 5.6 metres longer than its predecessor, the Boeing 747-400. The new Lufthansa Jumbo can seat 362 passengers: eight in First Class, 92 in Business Class and 262 in Economy Class.

Lufthansa will take delivery of 20 Boeing 747-8s up until 2015. The first five aircraft are due to be delivered to Lufthansa this year. They will be deployed on routes from Frankfurt to Washington D. C., New Delhi, Bangalore, Chicago and Los Angeles. – TradeArabia News Service