Say Hello to the New Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental

Yesterday Boeing rolled out the first completed airframe of the 747-8 Intercontinental, a stretched and updated variant of the original jumbo jet.

AviationWeek reports:

With a “vibrant and dynamic” orange-red livery that customers in its all-important Asian markets associate with prosperity and success, Boeing rolled out the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet Sunday in a celebration attended by 10,000 employees and guests.

“This is a new airplane and we wanted a new livery,” Boeing Vice President and airplane production chief Pat Shanahan said as a curtain dropped revealing the 467-passenger jet. “We wanted to be seen as vibrant and dynamic.”

Although it is the third generation of what is probably the world’s most recognized jet, the 747-8 is the first time the four-engine aircraft has been stretched. It is now 250 ft. 2-in. long, – 18 ft. more than the 747 “classics” or 747-400, and carries 51 more passengers in a nominal three-class seating. Flight testing is expected to start in late March with FAA certification and first delivery in the fourth quarter.

For more than a decade, Boeing promoted various upgrades to the hugely successful 747-400 but made little headway with the business case until it could offer them with the 67,000 lb. thrust General Electric GEnx-2B67 engines, derived from engines developed for the 787. They are hung from a new 224-ft. 7 in. super-critical wing that includes new flaps, and fly-by-wire spoilers and ailerons. The aircraft also incorporates a larger empennage, new avionics and a 787-inspired interior.

That combination forms the backbone for Boeing’s claim that when it enters service early next year with Lufthansa German Airlines, the 747-8 will offer 16% better fuel economy than the -400 and a 12% advantage of seat-mile costs.

Photos: Top, Via Boeing. All other, AirlineReporter.com via Flickr.

 

Comments

[Mike Harney]

It's hard to imagine a more beautiful aircraft than any 747 variant. A few months after my very first flight on an airplane -- a bright yellow Piper Cub I helped to paint when I was ten -- my next flight was from New York to London on one of the first Pan Am 747s (in fact, the one Pan Am lost at Tenerife). From that day forward, I've secretly wanted one of my very own to play with. Simply gorgeous.