Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Rivals Airbus A380

Boeing had to rival the Airbus A380, which is the biggest aircraft in the world. Boeing has unveiled longest passenger aircraft in the world - The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, 4th generation aircraft in the 747 series. The Intercontinental is one of the first high capacity passenger planes in the 400-500 seat category. It utilizes new technology and engineering that reduces operating costs and keeps environment clean. The plane was officially introduced at Everett, Wash by CEO Jim Albaugh among the presence of Boeing top executives, employees, government officials and partners. The event was titled "Incredible Again".

New Design:

The 747-8 Intercontinental features a new wing design engineered with the latest fluid dynamic technology and wind tunnel testing. The new design will allow the aircraft to attain faster speeds while offering better fuel economy. The fly-by-wire spoilers and ailerons will allow better flight control to the pilots. It has also helped in saving about 1400 pounds while keeping the integrity of structural design.

General Electric GEnx 2B Engine:

The aircraft is particularly suited for long distance, inter-continental flights and has the lowest seat-mile cost compared to any similar jetliner. The engines offer 16% better fuel economy, 16% lesser carbon emissions and about 30% lesser noise than the earlier crafts in the same series. The craft will fly a distance of 8k nautical miles at Mach 0.86 with about 460 passengers on board.

Comparison: The following image (credit: Boeing 747 8) compares the dimensions of the big aircrafts -



Lufthansa EVP, Nico Buchholz informed the media that as the launch customers, they look forward to having the aircraft in their fleet next year and expect the customers to enjoy new interiors. The 747-8 will also be next step in Luftansa's fleet modernization and 'go green' efforts.

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Maiden Flight ( Feb 2010)





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