New Boeing 747-8 makes its first landing at Athens airport

The first of the jumbo-sized Boeing 747-8 aircraft to land at Athens 'Eleftherios Venizelos' Airport, the pride of Lufthansa's fleet, touched down at the Greek capital's international airport on Tuesday.

Its arrival was marked with a special welcoming ceremony, with the participation of Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis and Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni, as well as the airport's general director and representatives of Lufthansa.

The Boeing 747-8 is the company's biggest passenger plane and an improved and longer version of the classic 747. It has a cabin capacity of 358 passengers, with eight seats in First Class, 92 seats in Business Class and 258 in Economy Class.

A Lufthansa executive stressed that Greece is the ideal choice for presenting the aircraft, since it is famous for its unique and genuine hospitality. He said that Lufthansa, which has a presence in Greece for more than half a century, "chose Athens and Eleftherios Venizelos airport for the presentation of this impressive aircraft, since it considers Greece an important European market, declaring its intention to further boost strong Greek-German ties."

The German carrier is the first, and until now the only, airline to use the new 747-8 on transatlantic routes, with the first planes used on flights from Frankfurt to Washington, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Miami.