Special report: Lufthansa takes off with A380
GERMAN airline Lufthansa is boosting its fleet with the addition of a second Airbus A380. TheBusinessDesk.com’s Tamlyn Jones travelled to Munich to speak to Lufthansa staff and enjoy the double-decker plane’s inaugural trip over southern German skies.
LUFTHANSA is determined to stick to its guns and not copy its rivals when it comes to running its 526-seat version of the massive Airbus A380 planes.
While other airlines have nearly 60 of the aircrafts on order, Lufthansa said it prided itself on its financial prudency and customer service.
Lufthansa has already started running flights from Frankfurt to Tokyo after taking delivery of its first A380 called ‘Frankfurt’ earlier this year and plans to add other routes to Beijing from September with its second A380, imaginatively titled ‘Munich’.
Ironically though, this will only depart from Frankfurt, as will flights to Johannesburg from October and the third and fourth planes it intends to receive from Airbus by the end of 2010.
It’s good news for those manufacturers from the North West which supply parts for the plane, notably the 5,000 employees at Airbus” Centre of Excellence in Broughton North Wales, where the giant wings are assembled, as Lufthansa has ordered 15 in total by 2015.
But it doesn’t end there, as the operator has an option on a further 10 should they be well received by customers.
Vice-president of European sales Dr Karsten Benz said: “We are pleased the West Midlands is contributing to the on-going success of the A380.
“We understand the importance of manufacturing to the region and are glad it will play its part in the 15 planes we have ordered.
“If we choose to take up our option on the further 10, it will be of even greater benefit to the region and help safeguard jobs.”
Why stop at 10 though when other airline companies are running much greater volumes of the jets?
Aage Dϋnhaupt, Lufthansa’s corporate communications directors, explained that it was simply some German prudency
“We are always careful when we start. We have to earn the money for the plane before we can buy it,” he said.
“Some 80% of our planes are owned by Lufthansa and we have one of the lowest leasing rates of any airline. If we have the money and the capacity you will see that Lufthansa will turn those options into orders.”
Dr Benz added: “The airline industry is a growth industry – there will be competition getting stronger but we don’t fear competition, we fear the changing needs of passengers and it’s up to us to be reactive to the changing situation.”
The planes really have to be seen to be believed as they simply dwarf anything else that sits alongside them on the runway.
The stats themselves bear this out – nearly 73 metres in length and 24 metres in height.
The wingspan is 72.8 metres – the pitch at Wembley Stadium is 69 by way of comparison – and it can hit 566 mph with a range of 7,500 miles.
Mr Dϋnhaupt described each plane as its own “little company” as up to 400 jobs are created with each one, from pilots, to cabin crew and catering staff.
Captain Michael Langer described the plane as “perfect”, saying its manoeuvrability felt like he was flying a much smaller plane.
Lufthansa says it sees a big future in this type of long-haul, mass load journey.
By ordering 15 units from Airbus, the German firm is committing an eye-watering €5bn into the project.
On September 1the A380 will be making its inaugural flight to Manchester with Middle East airline Emirates, which will then use the aircraft daily on its Dubai-Manchester route.
