Boeing’s new cargo airplane makes its international debut at Paris after the first transatlantic flight of a commercial aircraft powered by sustainable aviation fuel
LE BOURGET, France, June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The Boeing (NYSE: BA) 747-8 Freighter landed at Paris Le Bourget Airport at 5:35 p.m. local time after completing the first transatlantic flight of a large commercial airplane powered on all engines by a sustainable aviation jet fuel.
The airplane, piloted by Boeing pilots Capt. Keith Otsuka and Capt. Rick Braun and Cargolux Capt. Sten Rossby, flew from Everett, Wash., to Le Bourget with all four of its General Electric GEnx-2B engines powered by a blend of 15 percent camelina-based biofuel mixed with 85 percent traditional kerosene Jet A fuel. No changes were made to the airplane, its engines or operating procedures prior to departure. Normal flight parameters were followed and approved in advance by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The airplane is the fourth of five Boeing commercial airplanes to arrive at the Paris Air Show in 2011. It will be on static display at the Paris Air Show June 21 and 22. It is scheduled to leave the air show the evening of June 22 and fly to Cargolux headquarters at Luxembourg for a two-day visit. Cargolux is scheduled to take delivery of the first 747-8 Freighter to enter service this summer.
