Lufthansa first 747-8 operator?

bits44 · Post by **bits44** » 13 Dec 2005, 13:45

Insiders at Boeing are reporting that Lufthansa expressed intense interest in the the 747-8 at the Star Alliance meeting in Montreal on Saturday.

KT

lastrow · Post by **lastrow** » 13 Dec 2005, 15:21

apparently not only "Insiders at Boeing" but Wolfgang Mayhuber himself has reported Lufthansa's intense interest at this Star Alliance meeting:

http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=3394

I hope Lufthansa will do so, because I find still, the 747 is the most beautiful plane among the quads ...

-lr.

Knight255 · Post by **Knight255** » 13 Dec 2005, 15:57

Would this be the passenger or cargo varient that they are interested in???

burner737 · Post by **burner737** » 13 Dec 2005, 16:46

I think they're interested in the pax varient ...
Soo this would be the 2nd European airline,
after Cargolux who also will be the launch airline for this nice aircraft !!!

Regards Tim

chornedsnorkack · Post by **chornedsnorkack** » 13 Dec 2005, 18:35

What can they achieve for the passenger capacity?

The forward stretch is 200 cm. However, the first class seat pitch on Lufthansa is 237 cm - so difficulty adding a 5th row for 20 First seats.

On the lower deck, with 122 cm Business pitch, they can add 1 row of Business - 2 rows would take more space.

And the rear stretch is 150 cm. With 81 cm coach pitch, enough for 1 extra row of Economy, just a bit too little for 2 rows.

So, 7 Business and 10 Economy seats added?

lastrow · Post by **lastrow** » 13 Dec 2005, 19:02

I do not have the numbers ready, so just asking ... did you consider the increase in length of the fuselage? I think so, but apart from the fuselage length, the inner arrangement could be changed too - like different arrangements with the galleys/toilets and a newly designed rear area. that would result also in space improvements for adding one or two rows of seats.

-lr.

n5528p · Post by **n5528p** » 13 Dec 2005, 20:52

It will be the pax version, not the cargo version.

It's not only the size which makes this aircraft interesting - it fits nicely between the A346 and the A380, furthermore it will simply replace the current B747s, since they are simply getting old.

Regards, Bernhard

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 13 Dec 2005, 21:09

This would be a very nice addition to the fleet of LH.

Chris

PYX · Post by **PYX** » 14 Dec 2005, 00:57

The total stretch of the passenger version of the 747-8 will be 3.60 meters.
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/200 ... 1114h.html

Knight255 · Post by **Knight255** » 14 Dec 2005, 13:43

Well, if Lufthansa thinks that you need a go-between plane in between the A346 and the A380, any ideas if other airlines that have similar fleets will order the 748 as a replacement to their aging 744's?? (Hint, *cough* Virgin....)

bits44 · Post by **bits44** » 14 Dec 2005, 13:52

Some design concepts for the 747-8 interior. Click on "view gallery" below picture.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/ ... air14.html

Knight255 · Post by **Knight255** » 14 Dec 2005, 14:15

Was that a window I saw inside of the "DreamLav"?? Guess people want to see all of the sights while.....doing their business.

bits44 · Post by **bits44** » 14 Dec 2005, 14:24

Was that a window I saw inside of the "DreamLav"??

I think its intended more for relieving the sense of claustrophobia many people experience in a small noisy lav than for looking at the scenery, or maybe not.

by the way its also going to be a feature on the 787's as well.

Merry Xmas everyone!

KT

lastrow · Post by **lastrow** » 14 Dec 2005, 14:54

the argumentation at the end of the article from seattle-pi is very interesting. to me it sounds like "it is not a bug, but it is a feature"-story if they say:

"Anything Airbus does with the A380 to match this," he said of the 747-8 Sky Suites, means they lose seats. "No other plane but the 747 can do this."

... the 747 has got a quite small overhead space which they call innovative to use for the 747-8. And according to this, the 747-8 has got a clear advantage over the A380? That's so cute from the people at Boeing! 8)

-lr.

earthman · Post by **earthman** » 14 Dec 2005, 15:21

Knight255 wrote:Was that a window I saw inside of the "DreamLav"?? Guess people want to see all of the sights while.....doing their business.

Yes, you can also see that the lav seat is round, so you turn to face the window while doing your business. I'm afraid this will result in longer queues though...

chornedsnorkack · Post by **chornedsnorkack** » 14 Dec 2005, 16:30

lastrow wrote:the argumentation at the end of the article from seattle-pi is very interesting. to me it sounds like "it is not a bug, but it is a feature"-story if they say:

"Anything Airbus does with the A380 to match this," he said of the 747-8 Sky Suites, means they lose seats. "No other plane but the 747 can do this."

... the 747 has got a quite small overhead space which they call innovative to use for the 747-8. And according to this, the 747-8 has got a clear advantage over the A380? That's so cute from the people at Boeing! 8)

-lr.

Indeed. This is a "feature" of all B747 since the Classics back in 1970.
See examples like:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/816541/M/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/255515/M/

The B747 passenger planes have been lugging around empty attics this big, from rear to the upper deck fairing, all along. Recently, they have started to put crewrests there. And now they want to add cruise-only SkySuites. They cannot add the option of occupying the Skysuites on landing/takeoff, though.

earthman · Post by **earthman** » 15 Dec 2005, 04:43

How about suites down in the cargo holds, with downward facing windows?

lastrow · Post by **lastrow** » 15 Dec 2005, 09:12

that is interesteing - I was not aware of that. Is it due to security reasons, because the passengers in the overhead area cannot exit the plane quickly enough?

-lr.

Mordoch · Post by **Mordoch** » 15 Dec 2005, 09:34

lastrow wrote:the argumentation at the end of the article from seattle-pi is very interesting. to me it sounds like "it is not a bug, but it is a feature"-story if they say:

"Anything Airbus does with the A380 to match this," he said of the 747-8 Sky Suites, means they lose seats. "No other plane but the 747 can do this."

... the 747 has got a quite small overhead space which they call innovative to use for the 747-8. And according to this, the 747-8 has got a clear advantage over the A380? That's so cute from the people at Boeing! 8)

-lr.

You're overlooking some of the potential ramifications of this overhead space. Some of the things Boeing mentioned are highly viable options. Moving the gallery up to this overhead space frees up additional room for seating, and should be quite doable by all accounts. This erodes the overall seating advantage the 380 potentially has, while the 747-8 still has the advantage of being a lighter plane which reduces the risk for an operator if they can't fill all the seats, due to cheaper operating costs.

Its also true that especially for American airports, the increased size of the 380 means that not all airports will accommodate it, so an A-380 operator won't immediately have the option of sending one off to perform flights into say Boston or Atlanta unless those airport authorities can be persuaded to make upgrades sometime in the future. Those upgrades don't happen instantly either once a decision is made. Basically increased flexibility, lower initial cost, and potentially less risk are some key potential advantages the 747-8 will have to some airlines.

Starvmg · Post by **Starvmg** » 15 Dec 2005, 17:41

This would be a perfect plane for Lufthansa's fleet!

It would be a natural fit!

Aviation24.be

Lufthansa first 747-8 operator?

Lufthansa first 747-8 operator?

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