Posted by Courtney E. Howard
EVERETT, Wash., 3 Sept. 2011. Boeing (NYSE:BA) is scheduled to deliver its 747-8 Freighter to carrier customer Cargolux on Sept. 19 at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. Cargolux personnel will then fly the airplane away and put it into service. Boeing will host a celebration of this first delivery the following day at the Everett factory; Cargolux officials, Boeing employees, and other stakeholders will be in attendance. Boeing officials anticipate delivering a second 747-8 Freighter on Sept. 21 to Cargolux, which has ordered 13 of the aircraft.
The Boeing 747-8 Freighter is a new, high-capacity 747 designed to offer airlines low operating costs and good economics while providing enhanced environmental performance, says a Boeing spokesperson.
The high-capacity 747 is 250 feet, 2 inches long—a full 18 feet and 4 inches longer than the 747-400 Freighter—providing 16 percent more revenue cargo volume, or roughly four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets, compared to its predecessor.
"It's so exciting to be able to deliver two of these amazing airplanes to Cargolux in one week," says Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager, Boeing 747 program.
In a sense, history is repeating itself, explains Frank Reimen, president and chief executive officer of Cargolux. “We were pioneering the cargo industry when we put the first 747-400 Freighter into revenue service in 1993. This is what we do once again with the 747-8 Freighter, which is ultimately a testimony of our good and long-standing partnership with Boeing. We are proud to be the world's first cargo operator to benefit from the game-changing performance and efficiency of this ground-breaking aircraft."
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