Arrival of Boeing 747-8 Cargo Jet Makes Anchorage Aviation History

December 16, 2011|by Rhonda McBride

Arrival of Boeing 747-8 Cargo Jet at Anchorage Airport Makes Aviation History

It’s bigger. More efficient. And it’s now landing at the Anchorage Airport.

It’s the Boeing 747-8 freighter jet, which landed twice this week at Ted Stevens International Airport.

On Thursday, it stopped in Anchorage on a flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. And then on Friday, the cargo jet passed through on its return flight to Hong Kong.

The 747-8 is one of the newest planes in the Cathay Pacific Airways fleet and has been billed as the world’s most efficient freighter -- with room for 16 percent more cargo , or, about seven pallets.

It also has engines and wings that are engineered to save fuel and burn more cleanly.

“It is a quieter aircraft,” said Marc Luiken, Commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. “For our neighbors around the airport, I think they’ll appreciate that.”

Luiken says, on flights to and from Asia, the jet has enough fuel capacity to bypass Anchorage. But the fact that it doesn’t is telling.

John Parrott, who is Ted Stevens International’s airport manager, says the 747-8 cargo jet’s introduction into the Anchorage market signals that air cargo industry recognizes the city’s importance as a global transportation hub.

“It means business as usual into the future,” said Parrott. “There’s a new generation of aircraft coming on board, and they fully intend to stop in Anchorage and refuel to maximize their payload.”

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