Lufthansa Cargo launches a new era of aviation with the Boeing 777F
As of November 2013, Lufthansa Cargo will be flying around the world with brand new Boeing 777 freighters. The first three destinations scheduled for the so-called "Triple Seven" evoke the pioneering spirit Lufthansa displayed when developing civilian air traffic across the Atlantic. Atlanta, Chicago, New York: Lufthansa Cargo's new Boeing 777F will initially be bound - just like 41 years ago - for North America.
On 19 April 1972 Lufthansa was the first airline world-wide to use the freighter version of the "jumbo" Boeing 747 - which was at the time also the largest civilian aircraft to go into serial production - for transporting cargo between Europe and the USA. With 73 tons of cargo and 1.8 tons of mail on board, the four-engine Boeing 747-200F took off on its first scheduled flight from Frankfurt to New York.
Four decades later, the new member of Lufthansa Cargo's fleet only needs two engines to connect Europe with the USA or Asia. The Boeing 777F is able to remain in the air for ten and a half hours with a payload of 103 tons. During that time it can fly over 9,000 kilometres non-stop. In addition, the aircraft meets the strictest noise protection standards in international civil aviation. This gives it maximum access to airports with strict noise regulations, bringing significant relief to people who live near airports.
Thanks to its outstanding technical performance and reliability, the freighter is entering new dimensions. It also marks a milestone on our ambitious path to lowering specific emissions by 25 per cent until 2020", says Dr. Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht, Board Member Operations Lufthansa Cargo AG. Modernising the fleet is just one of six projects of the Lufthansa Cargo 2020 future programme, by means of which Germany's largest freight airline wants to maintain and strengthen its position as the industry leader of the air cargo sector. Lufthansa Cargo has invested in five new Triple Seven aircraft. The list price of the Boeing 777F is 270 million US dollars.