First flight of the 747-8!

The -8 Freighter took to the skies at 12:39 p.m. Seattle time on Monday.

It’s all just a little bittersweet for me. Obviously, I worked hard in my previous role to sell this airplane, and I’m extremely excited to see it flying. But since I’m still in Asia following the Singapore Air Show, and visiting customers, I didn’t get to see this historic flight in person.

Nonetheless, I’m sure I’ll get to see this great airplane fly many times in the future as we begin our flight test program. 747 Chief Pilot Mark Feuerstein and Capt. Tom Imrich were at the controls for the test flight - the first of more than 1,600 flight hours coming up.

On approach back to Paine Field at the conclusion of first flight.

Touch down at 4:18 p.m.

At the conclusion of the flight, Feuerstein told reporters that the new 747-8 Freighter reached a speed of 230 knots (264 mph/426 kph) and an altitude of 17,000 feet (5,181 meters). He said the airplane handled just like a 747-400.

As Feuerstein put it, “a big day for a big airplane.”

The first flight of the 747-8 Freighter is set for Monday, February 8, at 10 a.m. Seattle time.

We completed taxi tests on Saturday, the last functional test planned before the -8 flies. We’re told that the airplane reached a top speed of 90 knots (103.5 mph, 166.6 kph) during the tests, with Chief Pilot Mark Feuerstein at the controls.

The 747-8 during taxi tests in Everett on Saturday.

We’ll be making available a live Webcast of the takeoff and landing at this site. That site will be available 24 hours before the flight.

You can check out more information about the first flight at Boeing.com and at newairplane.com.

SINGAPORE - I just finished up my 2nd Singapore Air Show. What a week!

Things for me got started with the ATW (Air Transport World) awards. Air New Zealand took home the big prize, “Airline of the Year, and Air Tran Airways won the “Airline Market Leadership Award.”

Perhaps the highlight of the ATW event was the amazing sight of Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe, up on stage taking part in a “haka,” the traditional Maori dance ceremony.

Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe (on the right in the foreground) does a haka at the ATW Awards in Singapore. Photo courtesy: Air Transport World

At my press briefing on Tuesday, I faced a crowd of more than 70 journalists from around the globe. Their questions hit upon virtually all aspects of the market and our business. Of particular interest was the 787 flight test program, the latest on the 747-8, the outlook for the Asian market, what’s new with China, the potential 737 re-engining and where we stand on future 777 development. I also addressed a few questions on the threat of sanctions over the U.S. government sales of weapons to Taiwan.

I spent the later part of the week here with customers, analysts, investors and more media.

Reflecting on the show and all the great conversations here, what’s very clear is that Boeing (and Airbus) will face some stiff new competition in the airplane and services markets. Of course for us specifically, this year will continue to be one in which all eyes are on the prize – two very important development programs and simultaneous flight test and certification as we move toward first deliveries of the 787 and 747-8.

I’d also sum up that just as clearly the market is coming back. And you might say “I gotta feeling” that Asia will lead that recovery.

SINGAPORE - I delivered my media briefing here on Tuesday at a very hot, muggy and busy air show.

A lot of the news coverage so far has focused on our outlook for the next couple of years - essentially that 2010 will be another year where we won’t see a huge demand in terms of aircraft sales, but that we see this year as a year of recovery, with 2011 the year airlines return to profitability, and 2012 when we expect to see a rebound in demand.

I also had the opportunity to “co-host” a segment on CNBC Asia’s Squawk Box this week. As I mentioned on the show, Asia is the hot aviation market right now, and a region where we expect to see 30% to 35% of the future demand.

As is often the case while I’m traveling, there’s lots going on back home. So let me share a few photos.

We’ve just unveiled the interior of ZA003, the 3rd 787 flight test airplane, and the one that is configured to test the passenger experience elements of the Dreamliner.

The interior of ZA003 includes 135 seats, as well as lavs and crew rests.

The third 787 flight test airplane will be used to test, analyze and certify the various elements of the interior, including lighting, lavatories, stowage bins, windows and galleys. It has a partial interior, shared, as you can see below, with flight test instrumentation racks and equipment as well as work stations for engineers.

Need I say that these are images of a real airplane interior now, not a mockup - an exciting glimpse into what the flying experience will be like, and another step toward certification and delivery of the 787.

This is an airplane that’s going to change the way we fly, not only for travelers here in Asia, but around the world. I can’t wait.

SINGAPORE - I’m at the air show and getting ready for my press briefing here. There’s a lot to talk about as always and I hope to fill you in as time permits.

Meantime, Boeing reached a pretty neat milestone just recently, that I couldn’t pass up telling you about.

Over the holiday break in December, at our Commercial Delivery Center at Boeing Field, two flight crews from Brazilian airline, GOL, boarded a pair of white and orange liveried Next-Generation 737-800s and jetted off to Brazil.

Why was that a milestone? The first of those two airplanes to depart was the 3,133rd Next-Generation 737 produced. That means that with that airplane, we have produced more Next-Generation 737s than all of the earlier 737 models combined.

A record-making Next-Generation 737 departs for Brazil.

We reached this “goal” in record time. 737 employees broke this record for Next-Generation 737s in just 12 years. It took 32 years to produce the same number of 737-100s, -200s, -300s, -400s and -500s.

And that’s just part of the story. When we delivered the very first Next-Generation 737, Boeing employees and suppliers embarked on a journey to continuously update this great airplane and produce it more efficiently. The result is that final assembly in Renton completes a 737 in just 10 days now, compared to 22 days earlier in the decade.

Boeing produces 31 Next-Generation 737s a month – better than an airplane a day - including weekends and holidays.

You’ve heard me say repeatedly that we are striving to always improve on the airplane we deliver to our customers – and we are still updating passenger comfort, and airplane performance and navigation. The Next-Generation 737 is lighter, consumes less fuel and releases fewer emissions. And it’s more economical to operate and maintain.

For example, 737s delivered between September 2008 and September 2009 have had so few technical issues that passengers on these airplanes left the airport gate on time 99.8% of the time. That’s great news for GOL, and the other 120 operators who fly the Next-Generation 737.

Two GOL Next-Generation 737-800s being prepared for delivery in December. The two airplanes departed within minutes of each other.

In the next few years, passengers will enjoy the new 737 Boeing Sky Interior, including those who fly with GOL - a launch customer for the new interior. It’s just one of several enhancements we announced last year, along with airframe and engine improvements that will reduce fuel consumption and emissions by a further 2%.

As I mentioned to reporters and analysts last month in Europe, and will no doubt talk about here at the Singapore Air Show, we’re in the initial stages of assessing the viability of a “re-engine” program for the Next-Generation 737 as part of our normal, on-going product development efforts. Clearly this is a hot topic of discussion in our industry right now, but while our initial assessment indicates that we do have the flexibility to re-engine the Next-Generation 737, we haven’t yet made a decision to move forward.

But getting back to the “goal” of this post, GOL also happens to be marking a big milestone, completing its ninth year of service this month. As GOL set out to make flying affordable for Brazilians, it increased its fleet size from six airplanes to 109! And they are all are Next-Generation 737s.

By the way, last year GOL joined the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group and GOL’s airplanes are being equipped with a GPS landing system and vertical situation display to help make takeoffs and landings more efficient.

Dare I say .. GOL!!