Boeing revealed the new Boeing 747-Intercontinental aircraft this week to a crowd of over 10,000 guests at the factory in Washington. It is the longest commercial passenger aircraft in the skies, measuring 250.3 feet.
This is the latest of the 747 fleet, retaining the shape of the original Boeing 747 but offering far more technological improvements. The aircraft features new wings, a new body and new engines and consumes less fuel, meaning lower carbon dioxide emissions. The Boeing 747-8 is Boeing’s largest passenger plane and is expected to compete with the Airbus A380. The new Boeing is much larger than its 747 predecessors but can travel further and is far more fuel efficient, plus the new enginesare much quieter than previous 747 versions.
Whilst many commentators were shocked by the orange colour of the livery, which is a significant departure from Boeing’s trademark blue colour, the new Boeing features a vastly improved interior which is more spacious and offers more legroom. Boeing said that the colours on the exterior are meant to signify prosperity and good luck in many cultures.
The new aircraft features many of the technological innovations that can be found on the highly anticipated 787 Dreamliner. It is offers the lower operating costs, better fuel economy, a lower noise footprint and lower carbon emissions.
“The new 747-8 Intercontinental features the latest in innovative technologies — applying many of the breakthroughs also found on the 787 Dreamliner,” said Albaugh. “We think our customers will value the low operating costs and passengers will enjoy the comfort of the striking new interior.”
Lufthansa will be the first airline to operate flights with the aircraft and will use it to unveil its fully-flat business class seats. The German airline will install the new fully flat product on the B747-8 when they enter service towards the end of this year. This will be a welcome improvement as the current Business Class seats do not become completely flat.
Lufthansa currently has 20 of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft on order and reserves the right to order 20 more. It has been reported that Lufthansa will have a three class configuration on this new aircraft with 298 seats in Economy, 80 seats in Business Class and eight seats in First Class. There have also been suggestions that the upper deck will be reserved for Business Class passengers, and that the First Class cabin will be moved to the lower deck. Whilst the upper deck would be Business Class-only, the lower deck would feature some more Business Class seats, a First Class cabin at the front of the plane, and the rest Economy seating.
“The 747-8 Intercontinental will be a great complement to our fleet, fitting nicely into the 400-seat category, improving our fleet’s eco-efficiency even further,” said Nico Buchholz, executive vice president, Lufthansa Group Fleet Management. “As launch customer, we are looking forward to welcoming this new aircraft to our fleet next year as it adds to our ongoing fleet modernization and environmental efforts.”
The only other commercial airline to order the new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is Korean Air, who have ordered five. The plane is the only aircraft to cater for the 400 to 500 seat market and it is expected it will be used on long, heavily travelled routes.
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