Boeing 747-8 Heading To Africa

History will be made when the new stretched Boeing 747-8 passenger version touches down on African soil for the first time when Lufthansa flight LH 572 from Frankfurt arrives at OR Tambo on October 25.

Lufthansa will in future use this next generation Jumbo Jet for its non-stop daily flights to Johannesburg.

“By introducing the new aircraft to our South African route we are reinforcing the significant role the country plays in our intercontinental network. The four-class Boeing 747-8 is our most advanced long-haul aircraft, our most advanced, fuel-efficient long-haul aircraft in the Lufthansa fleet,” said Andre Schulz, Lufthansa’s general manager for South Africa.

In total, the airline has ordered 19 of the stretched Boeing 747’s. An investment totaling €1.5bn was also made on board products. In addition to the first class cabin with its ergonomically contoured seat that converts into a fully flat, two-metre long bed, the new business class offers a fully-flat bed

Lufthansa is currently, Europe’s largest aviation group and has over 260 aircraft on order for delivery until 2025 worth €36bn at list price. These include 34 Boeing 777-9x and 25 Airbus A350s, the latter of which will commence service from Munich during 2016.

At the same time as the airline introduces a new aircraft to the Johannesburg route, Lufthansa is resuming its daily non-stop schedule between Munich and Cape Town using the Airbus A340-300. In addition, Edelweiss, Switzerland’s leading leisure carrier and subsidiary of Swiss will for the fifth consecutive year operate its seasonal schedule between Zurich and the mother city.