UPDATE - Now that the airplane has flown away, I wanted to add a few photos from the big day.
The 747-8 Freighter leaves Everett this morning. Safe travels to Luxembourg!
The crew says goodbye with a wing wag.
The teams from Boeing and Cargolux mark the occasion with a ribbon cutting.
Boeing employees get to say their own goodbyes as the freighter takes to the runway in Everett.
ORIGINAL POST - I’m happy to announce that we’ve resolved the contractual issues that delayed the first delivery of our new 747-8 Freighter last month. I’m even happier to let you know that Cargolux will take delivery of their first freighter today (October 12) and immediately put it into service with a stop at Sea-Tac Airport for a cargo pickup. On Thursday, Cargolux will take delivery of its second 747-8F.
Even though we had to wait a bit longer than expected, it doesn’t make these deliveries any less sweet. We know Cargolux and every customer after them will love this airplane in every way—from how it flies to how it performs.
I’d like to personally congratulate every employee who had a hand in working on this beautiful new symbol of Boeing. We all look forward to seeing it take to the sky as an official member of the Cargolux fleet.
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Comments (13)
This is very good news. However, I am at a loss as to why GE is not taking any responsibility for the delay. It is clear that even overweight (initially), the 747-8 airframe is exceeding promised performance. Rather, it is the 2.7% performance shortfall of the GEnx-2b that is creating the deficit. GE should come up with a single PIP (not two) that addresses the ENTIRE shortfall (and then some) and have it ready ASAP -at their expense. The 747-8 program/engineers should not have to suffer or be made to look bad because of something beyond their control.
Posted on October 12, 2011 12:04
A little delay that came to fix everything and make everyone involved happier! I am very happy for that!
Posted on October 12, 2011 14:55
Good news to read.
Now if that person who threw the hissy fit at Cargolux were involved with Al Nippon, then most likely he would have postponed their 787 delivery due to the Rolls Royce T1000 fuel burn shortfall.
Posted on October 12, 2011 16:40
Always love seeing a wag ! Congrats to the program for getting that baby delivered .
Posted on October 12, 2011 17:03
It's too bad this all came down right before the original delivery date. I agree with Jon, GE should have stepped up and taken responsibility and assumed the burden. Maybe they did in the end.
It seems like a whimper of a delivery celebration compared to what was originally planned. Too bad for Cargolux as this could have been a grand celebration by all, instead... well it's finally a delivery.
However, congrats to all at Boeing for building yet another fantastic aircraft that will rule the skies for years to come.
Posted on October 12, 2011 17:24
Congrats on making it to this point in the aircraft's development. It is a beautiful new redesign to the 747 airframe. I do wonder however how much more longer will this airframe continue to be beefed up. It would be nice to see Boeing come out with their own version of a full double Decker aircraft that can rival the A380 in its load and flight performance. I like the 787 as a new addition to the Boeing company and I have no doubt that it will pay for itself years to come just like the successful 737 and 747 did.
Posted on October 12, 2011 19:26
GOOD JOB BOEING!!! Now the settlement is over...And now that the big bird is flying for Cargolux. Hopefully, the Next-Generation of the Boeing 747-8 family will have more customers knocking on your door!
Posted on October 12, 2011 20:38
It makes me feel so good to know that men and women have all worked so very hard to build such beautiful airplanes. It's just so amazing what a human mind can do God bless you all.
Posted on October 12, 2011 20:46
Randy,
naturally there will be no offical infos about these delays - just those uncommented rumors.
Everyone was informed about the project process and results - but then there were some contractual issues...?
But what does this mean for the other Boeing-GE (747-8, 787) deliveries?
Lessons learnt: For sure no more "contractual issues"!
Posted on October 13, 2011 00:15
I'm so happy..Congrats Boeing!
Posted on October 13, 2011 03:04
Congrats to the Boeing 747 Team! Another TC amendment and another first delivery just following the brand new 787-8 model TC and delivery.
Makes me proud to work for the Boeing Company!
Posted on October 13, 2011 07:54
Randy, congratulations to the entire Boeing family! The Queen of the sky lives on! What an amazingly beautiful piece of engineering it is. Doubt Joe Sutter and team could have ever imagined just how successful this bird would be. As for Boeing going the route of Airbus with the A380….GOD no! The A380 is the Edsel of aircraft. Only 236 firm orders and if you pull Emirates’ out of the equation they’ve only sold 146 frames. $15B+ to develop and an anemic backlog aren’t a recipe for success. Let’s get 737 Max, 787-9, and the 777x cooking and then let Boeing go clean Leahy’s clock!
Posted on October 13, 2011 14:43
Congratulations to Boeing and Cargolux, a new chapter of the legendary 747 begins. There is no other civilian hauler like the 747 cargo and the new "8" hauls like no other 747 can.
Posted on October 17, 2011 20:42
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