Speculation About Lines 1435 and 1437

The fates for lines 1435 and 1437 are still unclear.

Line 1435 has finished certification testing and is sitting on the KPAE flight line. It's not apparent if she's getting refurbishment done yet. Boeing has her earmarked internally for Lufthansa once again, but it's uncertain if this is real or some clerical anomoly, as nothing has been officially announced. I'm reluctant to get my hopes up, because it would make me really happy to see line 1435 finally end up as D-ABYE and be a real passenger airliner with a long career. If she goes to waste as a VIP frame, it'll be disappointing. I know VIP 747s have to exist, but they really are poor utilization of a good frame. Another possibility is that Transaero might take her up as one of their four (soon to be firm) orders.

Line 1437 has flown quite a bit over the past few months. I'm guessing she was used in some of the certification testing. Her engine cowls were painted Atlas blue recently, and along with this news that Atlas has expanded its 747-8F wet leasing, starting in February 2014 with BST Logistics in Hong Kong, I'm wondering if Atlas will take back their unwanted frame.

Again, this is mostly speculation. We'll just have to wait and see.

One Million Dollars Per Year

The title sums up the results of the performance improvements being introduced on new 747-8s. One million in fuel costs saved per frame, per year. The improvements itemized:

• 7,700 lbs removed
• 1.8% fuel burn reduction in the engines
• Tail tank enabled, with software modification to keep fuel in the tail to reduce the need for trim.
• FMC improvements, including RNP AR and improved climb functions
• 3.5% fuel burn improvement overall

These improvements will all be delivering this year. Boeing plans on continuing to improve the performance of the 747-8 as well. In a few more years it might actually take off with empty tanks and land twelve hours later with them overflowing.

In other rumors, Cathay's 14th frame has shown up on the charts, although it has yet to be ordered. Another interesting thing is line 1435 (RC021), the current test frame for the above improvements and former Lufthansa D-ABYE, is once again listed internally as earmarked for Lufthansa. This could be a clerical error, but I'm hopeful Lufthansa has had a change of heart.