Lufthansa Technik AG has begun work on the customized completion of a VIP version of the latest-generation jumbo jet, the Boeing 747-8 VIP. The aircraft belonging to an undisclosed customer landed in Hamburg on August 30, 2012 and the engineers now begin with the installation of a cabin interior that incorporates the ultimate in interior design. This makes Lufthansa Technik the first company in the world to fit out for a private customer what is currently the longest commercial aircraft.
The contract was signed back in 2011 and in the intervening period Lufthansa Technik has been preparing for this first completion with intensive engineering planning, qualification programs, assembly of all the production resources and implementation of the necessary modifications in the aircraft hangar. The aircraft is expected to be delivered in the summer of 2014.
“In addition to an extensive track record in Boeing 747 completions
we are already looking after the first Boeing 747-8s in scheduled operation with Lufthansa. As a result, we are able to offer our VIP customers the full range of maintenance services over the entire life cycle of their aircraft,” said Walter Heerdt, senior vice president Marketing & Sales at Lufthansa Technik.
The Hamburg-based company has to date completed and modified over 30 widebody aircraft for private and government customers, among them 15 Boeing 747 jumbos, and the company says it has a strong backlog through 2015.