Lufthansa Order Filled

Today is bittersweet. Lufthansa takes the final delivery of their order for 19 747-8Is. The order that kicked off the program is filled. Line 1514 RC040 D-ABYU is the last Lufty frame to leave the nest.

It's pretty certain now that there won't be a top up order from Lufthansa, as many of us had hoped. Sadder still that they won't be taking line 1435 either. Line 1435's future looks dire; years in a desert, followed by, at best, sparse use by a BBJ customer on Rolex shopping trips. Maybe Air Morocco will take her.

But alas, let us celebrate Lufthansa for at least being the catalyst behind the beautiful 748I, and operating by far the largest fleet of them, hopefully deep into the 21st century.

I still need to write about my trip on the 748 last month. In summary: it was cool.

Time of Reckoning for Line 1435

After a few test flights, tonight she moves into the paint hanger at KPAE.

I have a small hope she comes out dressed in "Lufthansa" livery and there's a happy ending after all.

But my gut says she'll be wearing "Extremely Long Term Desert Storage" livery of flat white.

Woody

Line 1435 - First Flight for the Third Time

Line 1435 RC021 flew again today. This is sort of a first flight after the extended rework following the test program completed over a year ago. And that test program was after an extended rework following the original 748I test flight program.

It's still unclear what the future holds for 1435. Some say she's destined to sit in the desert. I'm starting to feel that's what's in store for her as well. If that's the case, she'll probably head down to Marana in the next few days. So get your pics of her now!

From Matt Cawby, line 1435 shedding a tear of rejection.

Elon Musk's New Plane Flies Inside Emirates' Empty A380s, Halves Trip Time

Exciting announcement today by visionary Elon Musk:

"I noticed that Emirates Airlines is sending thousands of empty A380s to almost every airport on Earth, multiple times a day. I figured that with a new lightweight electric motor, a smaller plane could fly inside all of this empty space, essentially doubling the speed at which it travels. This new plane will be able to connect passengers from Dubai to Los Angeles in half the time. And by running off hydroelectric energy generated by the on board shower system nobody really uses, the trip cost for this new narrow body will be virtually zero."

In after hour trading, Tesla stock tripled. Emirates stock didn't budge because there is no stock exchange that deals with Monopoly money.

Read more here:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/business/tesla-new-airplane-to-fly-in-emirates-a380/index.html