Lufthansa 747-8 Intercontinental Frankfurt to Washington service in June

On Tuesday, Boeing and Deutsche Lufthansa AG celebrated the flyaway of the first 747-8 Intercontinental delivered to an airline.

Boeing and Lufthansa employees joined leaders from both companies, media and suppliers for a delivery ceremony at the Future of Flight Aviation Center beside Paine Field airport in Everett, Wash.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Carsten Spohr, chairman of the executive board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa; Nico Buchholz, executive vice president, Group Fleet Management, Lufthansa; and Elizabeth Lund, Boeing vice president and general manager, 747 Program, boarded the airplane with about 30 passengers and crew for the flight taking the airplane from Everett to Lufthansa's home base at Frankfurt, Germany.

When the airplane lands at Frankfurt, Lufthansa will host a special celebration. The airplane will begin regular revenue service June 1 on a flight from Frankfurt to Washington, D.C.

The 747-8 Intercontinental will bring double-digit improvements in fuel burn and emissions over its predecessor, the 747-400, while generating 30 percent less noise. It is powered by GE Aviation's GEnx-2B engines.