Lufthansa Takes Delivery of First A380

Lufthansa has taken delivery of the first of 15 Airbus A380s ordered, with three more to join the fleet in 2010. Lufthansa will deploy its new flagship aircraft on routes to Tokyo, Beijing and Johannesburg.

During the handover ceremony in Hamburg, Lufthansa unveiled its new First Class cabin which features eight generous seats on the upper deck. The upper deck is also equipped with 98 Business seats while the spacious main deck below hosts 420 Economy Class seats.. Lufthansa’s A380s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

The first long haul flight of the new fleet member, bearing the name “Frankfurt am Main”, will be a special flight to Johannesburg on 6 June, when Lufthansa flies the German national football team and a group of supporters to the FIFA world cup 2010 in South Africa. The first regular scheduled flight will take place on 11 June from Frankfurt to Tokyo.

From the beginning of the A380 programme, Lufthansa and Airbus have worked closely on the aircraft design through to certification. Between 2005 and 2010 the A380 underwent several airport compatibility tests at Lufthansa’s home base in Frankfurt. In cabin safety evacuation tests, Lufthansa cabin crews successfully evacuated 873 people in just 78 seconds. Lufthansa was also a major partner during initial ground based ‘virtual’ flights and on the first real long-range route proving flights.

“Passengers can look forward to a very special flight experience on board the A380,” Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa said at the handover on Wednesday. “In cooperation with Airbus, we have developed many technical solutions regarding the cabin design and furnishings which are being given a world premiere in this aircraft. Our innovations in terms of cabin air, light systems, sound insulation and inflight entertainment make our A380 unique. Our pilots, technicians and service professionals have undergone intensive training and are thoroughly prepared for this new dimension in flying. They are all as excited about this aircraft as our passengers, who are now booking flights specifically with the A380.”

Lufthansa and Airbus have a long history of partnership. In 1976 Lufthansa took over the first Airbus A300B4. With 274 orders, Lufthansa is today Airbus’ biggest airline customer. Nearly all Airbus family models are represented in the airline’s current Airbus fleet of over 180 aircraft.

Lufthansa is the fifth airline to introduce the A380 into service. Wednesday’s delivery marks the 28th Airbus A380 to be operating with the global route network of leading airlines. All in all, the A380 fleet has today achieved a total of more than 130,000 flight hours on over 14,000 commercial flights. More than 5 million passengers have had an opportunity to enjoy flying in an A380.

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