Lufthansa to launch A380 Flights to Beijing and Tokyo

Lufthansa is set to become the first European airline to operate the Airbus A380 in China and Japan. Tokyo and Beijing will be the first destinations of scheduled flight services of the airline’s new flagship.  Johannesburg in South Africa will be the third A380 destination for the German airline.

 “Now, we have decided, that two out of three first Lufthansa A380 destinations will be in the Asia Pacific region” said Uwe Mueller, Vice President Asia Pacific of Lufthansa German Airlines. “Our commitment to our customers, partners and many thousand employees in this region and our confidence in the ongoing positive development of the markets here could not be stronger.”

The A380 will commence scheduled flights on 11 June on the Frankfurt-Tokyo route, replacing the current Boeing 747-400 service. The first Airbus A380 to be delivered to Lufthansa will depart from Frankfurt – initially on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays – for Tokyo’s Narita International Airport.

 The aircraft, bearing the name “Frankfurt am Main” will operate under flight number LH710. The return flight to Frankfurt (LH711) is scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Once Lufthansa takes delivery of its second A380, the service will then operate daily starting 4 August as planned.

From 25 August, according to the latest planning, Lufthansa’s third A380 will fly from Frankfurt to Beijing three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The return flight from the Chinese capital is scheduled in each case for the following day. A daily connection is planned from the end of October, when the fourth A380 joins the Lufthansa fleet.

 From 25 October, the Lufthansa flagship is expected to be deployed thrice weekly (on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays) on the Frankfurt-Johannesburg route. The return flight from South Africa to Frankfurt will depart the following day.

Lufthansa will take the delivery of its first A380 aircraft on 19 May 2010. The first long haul flight of the new fleet member 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.

“We are very excited to receive our new flagship now. We are especially pleased, to be able to offer the new aircraft first of all to our customers from Asia and via our code share connections on partner airlines to Tokyo and Beijing also to our many customers from other markets of the region, including Australia and New Zealand,”, said Uwe Mueller.

Lufthansa’s Airbus A380 has 526 seats. The completely new First Class, with eight generous seats on the upper deck, promotes a sense of individuality. The revamped Business Class, with 98 seats on the upper deck, and Economy Class, with 420 seats on the main deck, provides improved levels of comfort and an impressive feeling of space.

Numerous airports worldwide are currently upgrading their facilities in preparation for the A380. At Frankfurt, passengers will generally board the Lufthansa A380 on two levels. This year, Lufthansa expects to take delivery of four Airbus A380s. There is currently only one other European airline with the Airbus A380.

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