After a long wait for India to accept the launch of Airbus A 380 to fly between Frankfurt and Delhi, German based Lufthansa has decided to make Delhi the first Asian city with the latest Boeing 747-8 on its runways.

The Boeing 747-8, operated by Lufthansa, would be flying on the Frankfurt-Delhi route starting on 6th of August. Lufthansa has also made plans for the artcraft to fly from Bengaluru too. Axel Hilgers, South Asia's Director for Lufthansa said, “ Our act of choosing India to launch the latest Boeing from our basket indicates that we understand the importance of our market in this region and that we are committed to expand here.”

The new Boeing 747-8 has 8 first class seats, 92 business class seats (after a significant makeover), and 262 economy class seats and would replace the Boeing 747-400 now flying between the 2 cities. The newer mean machine has better aerodynamics in the wings due to the new wingtip design and Genx-2B engines that have the 15% better fuel efficiency and 30% lower noise.

Delhi's 3rd Termina T3 is a F runway airport, capable of handling the Airbus A 380 which is presently the largest flying commercial flight. However, the government has not permitted the landing of this aircraft regularly in the Airport. Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Lufthansa were bent on introducing the aircraft to Delhi.

AW- Anil