APEX Logistics, a subsidiary of Kuehne+Nagel, has taken delivery the last Boeing 747-8 freighter as part of a long-term charter agreement with Atlas Air.
After a half-century production run of the jumbo jet, the last Boeing 747-8F, named Empower, was presented to the public during the official ceremony at the Boeing Everett Delivery Center near Seattle.
The event marked the end of the Queen of the Skies, which helped catapult the global air logistics industry with its unique nose-loading capability, payload capacity and fuel efficiency.
Following the first Kuehne+Nagel aircraft Inspire, Empower will operate on the trans-Pacific routings strengthening the intra-Asia network with better connectivity.
Atlas Air president and CEO John Dietrich said the aircraft was the second 747-8F delivery as part of the long-term strategic partnership with Kuehne+Nagel.
“As the world’s largest operator of 747 freighters, Atlas is especially proud to take the last 747 ever to be built,” he said.
“We are grateful to Boeing for their shared commitment to safety, quality, innovation and the environment, and for their partnership to ensure the continued success of the 747 programme as we operate the aircraft for decades to come.”
Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal said, “This monumental day is a testament to the generations of Boeing employees who brought to life the airplane that shrank the world and revolutionised travel and air cargo as the first true widebody”.
