King Khaled International Airport and Cargolux bringing the first Boeing 747-8 Freighter to the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Riyadh and Luxembourg, 1 December 2011 - King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh for the first time hosted the brand new Boeing 747-8 Freighter: On 28 November 2011 Luxembourg based cargo airline Cargolux operated flight CV7527 to Riyadh with the new larger model of the famous Boeing 747 aircraft. The flight arrived at KKIA at 13:48 in sunshine from Luxemburg and was given a traditional welcome shower by KKIA fire trucks upon arrival in Riyadh. After unloading its goods at KKIA’s cargo terminal it then continued at 15:15 onwards to Hong Kong in China.

Cargolux is Boeing’s launch customer for the 747-8 Freighter. The 747-8 Freighter gives cargo operators double-digit improvements in fuel burn and operating costs with lower emissions over the 747-400 Freighter. It is 76.3 meters long, which is 5.6 meters longer than its predecessor, the 747-400 Freighter. The stretch provides considerably more revenue-generating cargo volume and boasts a significantly improved environmental performance.

Commenting on the arrival of the first Boeing 747-8F in Riyadh, Engr. Abdullah Al-Tassan, KKIA Director General, said: “Cargolux has become one of our most important cargo airline clients at KKIA. We are delighted to have the honor of receiving the new Boeing 747-8F aircraft here in the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Cargolux’ upgrade of its Riyadh service today confirms our important role in the air cargo industry. It is in line with our strategic plan to attract cargo airlines from all over the world and to increase the number of cargo flights on routes with high demand.”

Commenting on the importance of Riyadh in the company’s global network, Frank Reimen, Cargolux President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We started our weekly service to Riyadh on 1 August 2010 with a Boeing 747-400 freighter. When we received our new flagship aircraft in October this year, we were keen to use the economics of the new-generation Boeing 747-8 freighter and deploy its enhanced payload capacity to King Khaled International Airport to bring high-value and temperature-sensitive goods to the Kingdom’s capital in a most efficient manner. I am very appreciative that the authorities went to great lengths to meet the ICAO Code F requirements to allow operations of the 747-8 freighter at KKIA.”

KKIA is the business gateway to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and today already connects the Kingdom with 85 different passenger and cargo destinations in 35 countries. Cargolux expanded its services to Saudi Arabia earlier last summer by adding Riyadh to its destination network. The successful weekly freight service has since then been carrying mostly high amounts of consumer goods, machinery and pharmaceuticals to the Saudi capital.

About Cargolux Airlines International

Cargolux, based in Luxembourg, is Europe’s largest all-cargo airline and launch customer of the new generation Boeing 747-8 freighter airplane. The Company operates a modern fleet of 2 Boeing 747-8 cargo aircraft and 13 Boeing 747-400 freighters. Its worldwide network covers 90 destinations, 60 of which are served on scheduled all-cargo flights. The Company has more than 85 offices in over 50 countries, and also offers an extensive trucking network to more than 180 destinations worldwide, as well as charter and aircraft maintenance services. Cargolux employs nearly 1,500 staff worldwide.