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1 / 15Lufthansa took delivery of the first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental in 2012. Pictured: the business class section of the first commercial Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental delivered to Lufthansa.AP
2 / 15The head of Lufthansa fleet management said he is not happy with the weight of Boeing new 747-8 jumbo, but that will not restrict the use of the airline's newest aircraft.AFP
3 / 15The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner's nose.AFP
4 / 15From left, Boeing 747 Program Vice President and General Manager Elizabeth Lund, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Senior Vice President Pat Shanahan, Deutsche Lufthansa AG CEO Carsten Spohr and Lufthansa Executive Vice President Nico Buchholz take part signing ceremony for Boeing the 747-8 Intercontinental.AFP
5 / 15The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner which was delivered to launch partner Lufthansa sits on the tarmac at the Boeing factory at Paine Field Airport, near Seattle.AFP
6 / 15A General Electric GENx-B2 engine pair on the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental.AFP
7 / 15The first class section of a Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner which was delivered to launch partner Lufthansa.AFP
8 / 15Lufthansa program manager for cabin development Steffen Voltz explains the larger overhead bins before delivery by Boeing of the first commercial 747-8 Intercontinental.AP
9 / 15A restroom is seen with some of the variable lighting available on the new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental AP
10 / 15Lufthansa is the launch customer for the Intercontinental and will start service with the plane between Frankfurt, Germany and Washington, DC. TAP
11 / 15EVERETT, WA - MAY 1: A visitor makes his way up stairs on the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental.AFP
12 / 15Business class seats on board the Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental.AFP
13 / 15The flight deck of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner.AFP
14 / 15A first class berth on Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental.AFP
15 / 15Boeing machinist Jose Diaz walks down the stairs on a Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner.AFP
The largest passenger jet ever built by Boeing has made its first commercial flight.
The 747-8 Intercontinental jumbo jet, the longest airliner in the world, took off on Friday from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC in the US in its first flight with launch customer Lufthansa.
"The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is an exceptional aircraft," said Christoph Franz, chairman and CEO of Lufthansa, ahead of the jet's departure from Frankfurt.
The first Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental flight touches down at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.Reuters
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Lufthansa's 747-8 has 362 seats in a three-class configuration (eight first class, 92 business class and 262 economy class).
The business class cabin features a "V" shaped layout where two neighboring seats are angled towards one another along a central axis. Lufthansa says the design came from customer research that showed business travellers wanted to sit or lie in the direction of travel, without surrendering the distance between seats. The seats feature a pitch of 78 inches (198 cm) when in the lie-flat position.
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The Boeing 747 jumbo jet is an iconic aircraft, making its first appearance in 1968. The 747-8's predecessor, the 747-400 is flown by dozens of airlines around the world including Qantas, which has 27.
Sales for the new passenger aircraft have been slow compared to its main rival, the Airbus A380 superjumbo. Boeing's new jumbo can carry up to 467 passengers, while the A380 carries about 525 in a three-class configuration. Lufthansa is the 747-8's biggest customer with 20 of the jets on order. The cargo version of the 747-8 however, is proving popular with freight companies, with 70 ordered to date.
The plane is several tonnes heavier than Boeing's original target, which generally increases fuel costs. The plane maker said in February it plans to hit its original weight target by 2014.
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Craig Platt is the digital editor of Traveller and has had responsibility for the travel content on the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday digital products since 2007. He has worked in journalism for more than 25 years. Craig has a strong interest in aviation and airlines, as well as wildlife tourism and (increasingly) family travel. He has visited every continent, including once visiting six of the seven in a single year (he missed Africa).
Craig Platt is the digital editor of Traveller and has had responsibility for the travel content on the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAtoday digital products since 2007. He has worked in journalism for more than 25 years. Craig has a strong interest in aviation and airlines, as well as wildlife tourism and (increasingly) family travel. He has visited every continent, including once visiting six of the seven in a single year (he missed Africa).