The Airbus A380 has allowed airlines to highlight their newest and best high-end products and Lufthansa Airlines is no exception. With the introduction of the A380, Lufthansa has been able to showcase a new level of luxury with their new first class seats found in the front of the upper deck. Many airlines call this set up “suites,” but these are really a hybrid. If you are flying with someone you know and get two tickets, you have the ability to put down the mid-screens and easily interact with your companion. If they are a stranger (or someone you know, but don’t want to talk to), you are able to put up the wall and have your own private suite-like space.
Although I haven’t been able to test out the first class suites on a flight, I can say just sitting in them for a few minutes is quite nice. Experiencing on of these seats first hand, will set you back a pretty penny; a round trip flight costs about $20,000.00.
Although the suites are quite impressive, the two lavatories are unreal. You have plenty of room to freshen up or use the facilities. It is also the prime location to join the mile-high club, if that is your thing.
The VIP cabin gets quite a few things the rest of Lufthansa A380s do not First is a bit more headroom with the lack of overhead bins. Passengers will find plenty of room to store their items either in their suite or in a storage locker, which they can personally lock. There is also additional sound deadening material to keep the first class cabin a bit more quiet for the long journey. To help reduce jet-lag, there is a special humidifier created by Lufthansa, just for their Airbus A380 first class cabin.
While catching a ride in a Boeing Stearman, Seattle Photographer and NYCAviation Chief Correspondent Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren got a nice shot of the first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental in full Lufthansa livery. Previously, we have seen another 747-8I in partial Lufthansa livery, missing her titles and logo. Interestingly, the registration number, D-ABYA, was used on Lufthansa’s very first Boeing 747-100 delivered on October 3, 1970. According to Lufthansa, the registration was created based on a specific pattern set for the airline. D represents Duetschland, A stands for an aircraft weighing over 20 tons, B is for Boeing, the Y stands for the aircraft type (V is the designation for the 747-400) and the final letter represents the actual aircraft and since this is the first to get a Lufthansa registry, it is A. According to the airline a name for the first 747-8 Intercontinental has not yet been decided.
Recently, the Boeing 747-8 Freighter won certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing is set to deliver the first 747-8F to Cargolux on September 19th and the second on the 21st. The 747-8I is still under going flight testing and the first is expected to be delivered to a private customer sometime later this year. Lufthansa is expected to take delivery of their first Intercontinental sometime in early 2012.
I am a fan of the simplistic Lufthansa livery, but if you are wondering what a retro scheme might look like on the 747-8 Intercontinental, someone has already done a mock up. I was able to find some additional photos of Lufthansa’s full-liveried 747-8I on Lufthansa’s website taken by Boeing. Click any for larger:
Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental inside the Boeing Factory.
Lufthansa 747-8I paint hangar roll out
A full liveried 747-8I rolls out of the paint hangar overnight.
A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8I sits on the flight line at Paine Field.
This post was updated with additional photos and information.
747-8F Flying Over 2011 Seafair Race. Photo by Boeing/Leo Dejillas. Click for larger.
Today, Boeing announced that the new 747-8 Freighter has received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This means the new jumbo-jet is in the final stages before being delivered to Cargolux. Boeing is expecting the first 747-8F to be delivered to Cargolux in, “early September.”
“This is such a great day for everyone on the 747 team,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes stated in a Boeing press release. “Over the last several years, this team has overcome challenge after challenge. Through their hard work and dedication, they have ensured that the 747, the Queen of the Skies, will fly for decades to come.” Boeing is expecting the passenger version, the 747-8 Intercontinental, will be delivered to Lufthansa Airlines sometime during the fourth quarter. Check out this Boeing video on the 747-8F testing process.
So, the big question is, which airliner will be delivered first? The Boeing 787 Dreamliner or the 747-8F. Either way, it is looking like September will be one awesome month for airline geeks around the world (and for Cargolux and All Nippon Airways).
About the photo: During Seattle’s Seafair, Boeing flew one of their 747-8F over Lake Washington. Although there was no Tex Johnston-like roll, I hear it was still a great site to see. This photo was taken by Leo Dejillas (and found on Randy Tinseth’s blog). I am assuming the photo was taken from one of Boeing’s T-38 chase planes. I think it does a nice job representing how great Seattle is, for how many other cities get a low fly over of a brand new aircraft on a sunny Sunday? (thanks Liz for helping me get my facts on the Seafair flyover straight — she was there and I wasn’t)
Throughout the week, I upload photos to my server and share them on Twitter. They are photos I find interesting, but not quite enough to write a blog on. For those of you who don’t use Twitter, I want to share them, but not exactly sure how. Why not post a collection of links in a blog? Let’s give it a try and see how it goes — click on the links below for photos.
Lots of interesting photos. Click the links below to see larger versions.
* On Tuesday July 26th, United Airlines Boeing 767 Flight 635 enroute from Chicago, landed in Seattle with brake issues and was met by fire trucks who quickly sprayed water on the aircraft’s brakes. No injuries were reported.
* Last week, Lufthansa announced 30 firm orders for the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft. The order consists of 25 Airbus A320neo and five Airbus A321neo aircraft.
* I had the “opportunity” to see JAL’s new livery for the first time in person while stopping in Narita. I have to say that I was not that impressed — a bit too plain for my taste. Also caught an Asiana Boeing 747-400 in the same shot.
Lufthansa is using this Airbus A321 (D-AIDG) to operate their first scheduled flight using biofuels.
Airlines and airline manufactures have been experimenting with biofuels for quite sometime. It has been successfully shown that airliners are able to fly on biofuel and companies around the globe are working to make sure it is economically feasible and sustainable.
Last week, Lufthansa Airlines started flying an Airbus A321 (D-AIDG) on scheduled service from Hamburg to Frankfurt using a 50/50 mix of regular and biofuel on one of its engines and standard jet fuel in the other.
“The main focus of this test is to examine the effects of biofuel on the lifecycle of the engines and other operational issues,” Martin Riecken, Director Corporate Communications, The Americas explained to AirlineReporter.com. “Two of the main roadblocks are availability of biofuel on a larger scale and the price point. Right now, biofuel is about 60-70 percent more expensive than regular jetfuel.”
The aircraft will operate on the biofuel for a test period of six months. The biofuel is similar enough to jet fuel, that the aircraft needs no additional modifications.
Christoph Franz, Chairman and CEO of the Lufthansa Group, said via a press release: ’œLufthansa is the first airline worldwide to use biofuel in scheduled daily flight operations. We are thus continuing to steadily implement our proven and successful strategy for sustainability.’
The fuel used on the Lufthansa A321 is developed from pure biomass and consists of jatropha, camelina and animal fats. The airline requires that the original product originates from a sustainable supply and is not in direct competition with food production.
When asked if Lufthansa plans to continue to fly with the biofuel Riecken replied, “There are no current plans to continue biofuel operations after the completion of the six-month test phase, but we will continue to support further research efforts.”
By implementing new technologies, Lufthansa has improved their fuel efficiency by over 30 percent since 1991 and on average, their fleet has a fuel consumption of 56 MPG per passenger.
