The aircraft, registered LX-VCK and named ‘City of Contern’, is scheduled to leave Boeing’s Paine Field in Seattle on July 24th. After stopovers at Seattle Tacoma and Calgary, where the new freighter picks up a load of cargo, LX-VCK arrives in Luxembourg on July 25th.

‘The delivery of the 10th 747-8F has helped us bring down the average age of our fleet - already one of the youngest in the industry - to a mere 5.8 years’, said Dirk Reich, President & CEO. ‘Apart from the increased fuel efficiency and reduced noise footprint, the 747-8F is the ideal aircraft for the implementation of our dual hub strategy between Zhengzhou and Luxembourg. Our goal is indeed to operate multiple daily connections between both locations with the -8F’, Reich added.

As a launch customer of the 747-8F, Cargolux became the world’s first operator of the type in 2011. The type has performed extremely well in Cargolux’s services and reached an average daily utilization of 15:58 hours in 2013. The airline expects to take delivery of its 11th 747-8F out of a total order of 14 units later this year. Cargolux also operates 11 747-400 freighters.