Three-hundred and sixty-two passengers, media and VIP guests received the ride of a lifetime Friday as Lufthansa and Boeing celebrated the first scheduled 747-8 Intercontinental flight in Washington DC. The behemoth airplane — registered D-ABYA — landed in the nation’s capital at 12:12 pm local time today, capping an eight hour flight from Frankfurt.
“The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is an exceptional aircraft,” said Christoph Franz, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “With its addition to our fleet, Lufthansa has created a product that is not only in line with our company’s commitment to innovation, technology and efficiency, but that also offers qualities and features that are sure to maximize our passengers’ in-flight experience.“
And they were not kidding about that last part: Lufthansa took the opportunity to double-down on the introduction of the wide-body jet by also revamping their business class cabin. Now featuring touch lie-flat seats in a “V” configuration, the new cabin is designed to feel considerably more spacious. NYCAviation has had the opportunity to view the cabin a handful of times, and we like what we see. We hope to get our hands on it for a more personal review in the near future.
Of course the big seller for the jet comes in the anticipated efficiencies on the design itself. Improved aerodynamics, raked wing tips, and upgraded engines (four GEnx-2B’s) among other traits are expected to give airlines like Lufthansa the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger plane.
Lufthansa anticipates receiving five additional 747-8 Intercontinentals this year, with an eye toward rolling them out in addition US along with Indian markets.
