What has been expected for a while has become official.
The US Air Force has chosen the Boeing 747-8i to replace the existing 747 aircraft that serve as Air Force 1 when flying the President on his appointed rounds. This comes just in time as Boeing’s 747-8i backlog is diminishing as the final few aircraft are completed.
Know to the military as the VC-25, the current pair of Aircraft that serve as Air Force 1 have been in service for approximately 25 years. The new planes would enter service in 2017-18 and would start flying the President in 2023 after additional years of testing and retrofit to meet military standards and the installation of the secret systems that would be required.
This will most likely also mean the end of the line for the 747-8i and perhaps the 747 platform in general since Boeing is ramping up their facilities for the 777x and has no plans for a successor 747 model. There are only a handful of deliveries left for the 747 and no new orders are on the horizon.
At one point, Boeing was thought to have offered Lufthansa a bargain-basement price to purchase additional 747-8i aircraft to sustain the production line. However nothing came of those negotiations.
The story first broke via Reuters earlier this afternoon.
As luck would have it I’m in the right place at the right time….
I am spending a few days in Everett, Washington to take in Plane Spotting at Paine Field. This morning, I parked my car a bit before sunrise and within an hour I would be surprised with what came out from behind the ‘curtain’.
So without further rambling, I introduce you (and the world) to the newly completed D-ABYR fresh from the paint booth, including a 2 minute video showing the Push Back. Most of the photos are shot at 600mm with Sigma’s new 150-600. I can’t say I’m disappointed with the sharpness. My love affair with the lens continues!
BTW, pardon the soundtrack on the video. I needed to cover up ‘someone’s’ constant breathing into the microphone! 🙂
Hello World! The very first images of D-ABYR as she is pushed out of the Boeing Paint Booth. Taken at 600mm, cropped 75%, but acceptable…
A bit more of D-ABYR as the push back continues.
Preparing for tow to parking.
Pardon the United 787-9
Now she awaits her inaugural flight in the coming days…..
Lufthansa has updated their timetable to reflect a minor delay for the introduction of the A380 between Frankfurt and Seoul. Originally planned for April 26, the A380 will now debut on the route on May 6, 2015.
As a result of this minor delay, Frankfurt – Boston will have the 747-8i delayed until May 7. Originally, the 747-8i was set to begin flying FRA-BOS on April 27.
If your travels involve these days and routes, please check your assigned seats and make changes as needed since the A380 and 747-8i have ‘slightly’ different seating charts! 😉
Lufthansa’s rollout of their new Premium Economy class is moving along ahead of schedule. According to LH, their 747-8i fleet will be completely retrofitted with Premium Economy on November 22, 9 days ahead of their previous commitment.
This means that passengers flying to Chicago, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Bangalore, Los Angeles, Peking, Mexico City, Washington DC and Tokyo Haneda will have the option of booking a Premium Economy seat a bit sooner than expected.
The rest of fleet’s retrofit is going according to schedule and each long haul aircraft should have Premium Economy in place by the end of Summer 2015.
To see all of my other Premium Economy related content including trip reports, installation photos and rollout schedules, please click here.
Two weeks ago, I was flying from Michigan to Johannesburg via Chicago and Frankfurt which created a very nice and lengthy layover in Frankfurt between my inbound flight from the US and connecting flight to JNB. This routing gave me a unique opportunity take in plane spotting at night when Lufthansa sends a few of their long haulers to Asia and Africa.
On typical trips, I arrive in FRA during early morning hours and my departures for the States typically take place by early afternoon. Having a 10:00p departure from FRA gave me an opportunity to see LH aircraft in a different light, or lack thereof….
While waiting for 10p to roll around, I ‘abandoned’ my wife to the capable hands of the Senator Lounge and set out to walk the length of Concourse Z which is typically where you’ll find most of LH’s long haul activity, especially at night. Fortunately the glass was clean enough and glare was manageable so that the pictures actually turned out quite well.
Enjoy!
747-8i, D-ABYL, ahead of her flight to Hong Kong
Another look at ‘Yankee Lima’
D-AISL, an Airbus A321, would head to Amman, Jordan
D-AISR, an Airbus A321, would head off to Bucharest, Romania.
D-AIGO, an Airbus A343, would head off to Qingdao-Shenyang
This would be our ride to Johannesburg. ‘D-AIMB’ aka Munchen is an Airbus A380, and is outfitted with the fantastic new Business cabin…..
