The first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental (A7-HHE) sits next to ANA's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner (JA801A) in September 2011 at Paine Field. Photo by Jon Ostrower.
Tomorrow, the very first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental will be delivered to its owner, but who is it? There have been many rumors and guesses about the plane’s owner, but nothing has officially been announced. Boeing is not talking and even though the delivery event is scheduled for tomorrow morning, there is no plan to announce the owner tomorrow and that the owner will not be present during the event. We know that the 747-8I is a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) and most rumors have speculated that the aircraft is going to a head of some government.
I have gathered enough information and feel confident in announcing that the owner of the first 747-8 Intercontinental will be Qatar Amiri Flight, which is a VIP airline owned by the government of Qatar. According to Wikipedia, they operate, “worldwide charters on demand and caters exclusively to the royal family of Qatar and other VIP government staff.” Qatar Amiri Flight currently has two 747-8I’s on order.
The delivery event is set to start at about 11:00am PST tomorrow, the 28th and I am told the aircraft should depart by Noon. Make sure to follow me on Twitter and the hashtag #7478VIP as is covered live.
Lufthansa's first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental shortly after take off from Paine Field. Photo by Jon Ostrower.
Jon Ostrower (aka Flight Blogger) was up at Paine Field yesterday when Lufthansa’s first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental (D-ABYA) had her flight flight.
The first Boeing 747-8I is schedule to be delivered to an unknown VIP customer sometime soon and Lufthansa hopes to take delivery of its Intercontinental sometime in March.
How does Boeing paint their largest aircraft — well very carefully of course. This video, posted by Lufthansa, shows how Boeing went about painting a 747-8 Intercontinental (D-ABYA). The Lufthansa livery is very simple, but elegant at the same time. It looks right at home on a Boeing 747-8I.
From December 6th to the 9th, one of Boeing 747-8 Intercontinentals, RC021, was flown to Frankfurt Germany, so that Lufthansa could complete pre-delivery testing at the Frankfurt Airport. Three Lufthansa and two Boeing pilots made the nine hour journey from Seattle to Frankfurt. The aircraft will be the fifth 747-8I that Lufthansa will take delivery of and the first delivery is expected sometime in “early 2012.”
Luckily, Lufthansa took quite a few photos of the Intercontinental’s visit and it is time to share:
HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger). Lufthansa's 5th Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, RC021, in front of their Technik Repair facility in Frankfurt. Photo by Lufthansa.
HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger). Lufthansa's 5th Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, RC021, inside the Technik Maintenance facility in Frankfurt. Photo by Lufthansa.
HI-RES PHOTO (click for larger). The Boeing 747-8I rocks the GEnx-2B67 engine. Photo by Lufthansa.
HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger). The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental has one sexy backside. Photo by Lufthansa.
HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger). Nose shot of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental in Frankfurt. Photo by Lufthansa.
HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger). Lufthansa's Technik facility in Frankfurt is HUGE and has a way of making large aircraft look small. Photo by Lufthansa.
HI-RES IMAGE (click for larger). The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental on the tarmac in Frankfurt. Photo by Lufthansa.
Cargolux's first Boeing 747-8F (LX-VCB) takes off from Paine Field earlier today. Photo by Boeing. Click for hi-res.
No music, no balloons and no Champagne to celebrate Boeing’s first delivery of their new 747-8F (LX-VCB) yesterday. It is really sort of sad that so much has gone into making the new 747-8F and it took off from Paine Field with almost no fanfare.
The plane was supposed to be delivered with three days of celebration on September 19th. Cargolux was not happy with the 747’s performance and went into negotiations with GE and Boeing. All three companies were silent during these negotiations and it wasn’t until September 30th, that Cargolux/Qatar Airways announced it was looking to take delivery on October 12th. Many were waiting to see what would happen after an October 7th board meeting, but all three still remained mostly silent.
The Boeing 747-8F gets its first real cargo load at SEA. Photo by the Port of Seattle.
It was not until early yesterday morning that rumors started to turn into facts when it became clear that Cargolux would take delivery of their first 747-8F. Even though it should have been a happy day, it just feels like it was sort of stolen. Yes, it is great that in the last 30-days, Boeing has finally delivered not only their first 747-8F, but also their first 787 Dreamliner, but it is just unfortunate that all the employees who have spent many hours on the aircraft were not able to celebrate like the 787 team did.
Nose up. Cargo in. It didn't take long for Cargolux to put their new 747-8F to work. Photo from the Port of Seattle.
After being handed over to Cargolux, LX-VCB’s first flight was short. A quick hop from Paine Field (PAE), down to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) where it took a few hours to be loaded with cargo and then off to Luxembourg. Although seeing a Cargolux Boeing 747 at SEA is nothing new.
Cargolux is one SEA’s longest serving cargo carriers which began in 1983 and in 2010, the airline shipped 8,796 metric tons of cargo through SEA. “We appreciate the commitment by Cargolux to this region’s freight hauling capacity by placing this historic aircraft into service right here at Sea-Tac,” said Mark Reis, Managing Director of Sea-Tac Airport. “This investment by our freight partner highlights the capabilities of Sea-Tac’s air cargo service as an economic engine to our entire region.”
Easy does it. Surely don't want to damage a brand new plane. Photo from the Port of Seattle.
It is interesting that on Boeing’s press release for the delivery, they don’t give exact numbers on the 747-8’s increased performance vs the 747-400. ’œThe 747-8 Freighter offers double-digit improvements in fuel burn, operating cost and lower emissions over the airplane it replaces.’ Previously Boeing has stated a 16% performance gain, which Carglux has stated there is a 2.7% shortfall in that gain, which has caused the delivery delay.
