September 5 - Boeing will deliver the first 747-8 Freighter to launch customer Cargolux on September 19 at Paine Field in Everett, US and Cargolux will fly the aircraft away that morning and put it into revenue service.

Boeing will celebrate the first delivery with Cargolux, employees and other stakeholders the following day at the Everett factory and Cargolux will take delivery of the second 747-8 Freighter one day later on September 21. The carrier has a total of 13 of the aircraft on order.

Aircraft number one, LLX-VCB - 'City of Esch-sur-Alzette', is named after Luxembourg's second largest city, while LX-VCD -'City of Luxembourg', its sister aircraft, is carrying the crest of the capital of the Company's home country. Deliveries scheduled for 2011 will be complete when the third aircraft, LXVCC - 'City of Ettelbruuck', joins the Cargolux 747-8 Freighter fleet in October.

"It's so exciting to be able to deliver two of these amazing airplanes to Cargolux in one week," said Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager, Boeing 747 programme. "Cargolux has been a great partner for many years, and we so appreciate its deep commitment to this programme."

"It is great to receive our first two 747-8 Freighters within just a few days," said Frank Reimen, president and chief executive officer of Cargolux. "In a sense, history is repeating itself. We were pioneering the cargo industry when we put the first 747-400 Freighter into revenue service in 1993. This is what we do once again with the 747-8 Freighter, which is ultimately a testimony of our good and long-standing partnership with Boeing.

"We hit a few bumps on the journey from order to delivery, but I am convinced that the entire Cargolux team shares my sense of excitement and pride as we demonstrate industry leadership once again. This aircraft sets new standards in efficiency: it features greater fuel economy and the lowest operating costs of any large freighter, and boasts a significantly improved environmental performance.

"Clearly, the 747-8 F will be the cornerstone of our growth and profitability for thee next decades and a genuine industry game changer."

The 747-8 Freighter is the new high-capacity 747 that Boeing says will give cargo operators the lowest operating costs and best economics of any freighter airplane while providing enhanced environmental performance. It is 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long, which is 18 feet and 4 inches (5.6 m) longer than the 747-400 Freighter. The stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume compared to its predecessor. That translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets.

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