Lufthansa’s new bigger Boeing

The 747 (left) may look bigger than usual and it is, at 250ft (76.25m) 18ft longer than the series 400 and with a 13ft larger wingspan.  Passengers will find it a combination of 787 interior, without the larger windows, but with the LED lighting and 21st century cabin styling.  From a technical point of view the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, with its GEnx engines, is said to be to be 30% quieter, 16% more fuel-efficient, and has 13% lower seat-mile costs with nearly the same cost per trip. 

Lufthansa, the lead customer, is expected to take delivery of the first of 20 on 23 April, and soon afterwards replace the current 747-400 on the Frankfurt – Washington DC route, a nine-hour sector. 

To date Boeing has announced 106 orders for the latest 747 variant, 70 of them the cargo version, which has set the pace for deliveries with 14 already in the hands of their airline operators.  Rumours of a pair of 747-8s to replace the current elderly -200 series Air Force One have not been confirmed, likewise one for the South Korean President, Korean Air Lines with the freighter on order. www.boeing.com/commercial www.lufthansa.com

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