Boeing comes back with a second Seattle Seahawks 747 jumbo jet

Boeing 747-83QF (60119/1520) N841BA.

(Photo by Boeing)

 

The Seattle Seahawks football team is getting the jumbo support they need to take the field and, we all hope, win the Super Bowl again.

 

Call it sports superstition, but Boeing this week rolled out its second four-engine 747 freighter painted in Seahawks blue and green.

 

The main difference from the prior design – which was unveiled in January 2014, right before the Hawks' Super Bowl win – is the phrase “In it to win it” in large green letters on the aircraft’s tail.

 

(Photo by Boeing)

 

Otherwise, the large jet will sport a big blue 12 on its tail, and a fierce Seahawk on its side, like the previous model did.

 

Will this make a difference?

 

Think about it: the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2014, but only after the team had 747 jumbo support during the 2013-2014 season.

 

Boeing opted not to paint a plane during the 2014-2015 season, and what happened? The Seahawks lost 28-24 against the New England Patriots on Feb. 1.

 

Let’s see if the new plane, which is the same model used for Air Force One, brings back the Super Bowl magic. No other NFL team has a flying mascot this large.

 

You’ll get a chance to see the new plane Aug. 2 if you’re watching the Boeing Seafair Air Show over Lake Washington.

 

And maybe the publicity also will help Boeing sell a few more 747 freighters, something the company would dearly love to do.

 

Boeing has firm orders for just 14 model 747 freighters, and 31 overall. In June the company announced it will reduce production to just one monthly, the lowest it can go and still make money.

 

(Steve Wilhelm - Puget Sound Business Journal)