Leading cargo carrier, Lufthansa is expanding its B777 freighter fleet and has added the eighth aircraft of the type.
The new arrival is part of a fleet modernisation programme that began in 2014 and will be completed next year. The second of the two B777Fs is due for delivery in the next few weeks. The plan is to expand the German airline’s total all-cargo fleet to 14 aircraft.
The new aircraft is being called as ‘Namaste India’ which it has taken over from an aircraft with the registration D-ALCJ (a McDonnell Douglas MD-11) that has already been taken out of service. The names of the aircraft are based on the winning idea of an open creative competition organised by Lufthansa Cargo in 2013 to rename their entire fleet. The winning idea was “Say hello around the world” and accordingly all the aircraft in the Lufthansa Cargo fleet are now being renamed to greetings in around 20 languages.
Peter Gerber, Chief Executive and Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo said in a statement, “The investments in our fleet are a significant contribution to the sustainable improvement of our economic and ecological efficiency. We want to make air cargo as fast, safe and environmentally friendly as possible.”
Lufthansa said in a statement that the the twin-engine Boeing 777F is around 20 per cent more efficient and emits less CO2 than the previously used three-engine MD-11F. The new model also meets the strict noise protection requirements of ICAO Annex 16, Volume I, Chapter 14.
