On Monday, February 28th, Lufthansa will achieve a major milestone for the airline, with the inaugural service of their newest A380 mega plane from Frankfurt to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. This is Lufthansa’s fifth A380 and the first one to service North America.
I was lucky enough to be included among the travel bloggers invited to cover this remarkable event. After a brief, six and half hour flight to Frankfort, we spent the following day learning more about the newest Lufthansa flagship plane. Simply said, this aircraft is amazing.
While I’m not an aviation blogger, I have always had incredible interest in the latest and greatest aircraft and in-flight technology. I have been following the sometimes dramatic progress of the A380 for many years, and was even fortunate to see a pre-delivery version in Singapore almost four years ago. But never have I been as close to this tremendous aircraft as I was in Frankfort.
In case you think this is just another commercial airplane, it’s not. The Lufthansa A380 seats a mind boggling 526 passengers in a three-class configuration. It’s a veritable floating cruise ship. Each airline that has ordered the super plane has tailored it to its own, unique specifications, and Lufthansa is no different.
As one would expect, the First Class cabin is the most impressive. Some of the many highlights found in this elite cabin are:
- A bed 6’9” in length featuring a Paradies mattress and heat regulating blankets
- A unique partition system that creates complete privacy
- Gigantic lavatory space
- A humidification system that reduces the normal dry air that plagues every airline passenger.
Not many will be afforded the luxury of first class, but the more accessible business class product is on par with most international airlines. In addition to all of the normal perks one would expect, the Lufthansa A380 version seems much more spacious than the normal business class section.
While the business class cabin doesn’t seem to have enjoyed as many changes as first class, the economy cabin definitely benefits from this new, larger design. The biggest change for me, as someone who enjoys a height of six-feet two inches, is the new slimmer seat back that provides an extra 2 inches of legroom. This is huge on a long haul flight and in all honesty, would make me choose this aircraft over any other given the option. Overall, the new economy class cabin design just seems much more spacious and comfortable, especially when compared to the veritable cattle car that is the Boeing 747.
These observations though were garnered without having ever flown in this remarkable aircraft. The real test will come during the actual flight itself. While I wish I could say I will be reviewing the First Class cabin, I will instead be featuring the new and improved economy class and, hopefully, will be able to share with everyone whether or not the new A380 lives up to nearly a decade of anticipation.
