Lufthansa introduces first 747-8I on US, India routes

Lufthansa (LH) will take delivery of five Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft this year as part of its biggest fleet modernization program in its history. The remaining 15 747-8I aircraft will be delivered at a rate of five aircraft per year.

LH, the first passenger airline to operate the 747-8I, is expecting its first delivery by the end of April to be used on services from Frankfurt to the US East Coast and India. LH will take delivery of the first of four Airbus A330-300s soon .

LH also introduced a new business class seat for its long-haul fleet at the ITB Tourism Fair in Berlin. The new seat, which features a 1.98 meter-long bed, will be introduced on the first 747-8I. The new seat is a major component of LH’s biggest investment to date in its inflight product.

Over the next few years, some three billion euros will be channeled into product improvements for passengers. By the end of 2012, around 40% of its long-haul fleet will offer the new C class and about 30% will be reconfigured annually.

“Retrofitting LH entire long-haul fleet of more than 100 aircraft is expected to take four years,” LH board member Jens Bischof told. “In 2012, all together, we [will] invest €1.8 billion ($2.36 billion) this year,” he said, adding that €300,000 will be in new products such as lounges.

The new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BER) will open in June. “Our services to and from Berlin will increase fourfold to 50 destinations,” Bischof said, adding that LH’s total investment in BER is “more than a half billion euro, which also created 500 additional jobs in Berlin.”

LH will open a new terminal area at Frankfurt Airport in October.

”This give as growth opportunities [that] other carriers don’t have in the next 10 to 20 years,” Bischof said. Growth will happen in Germany, not in nearby hubs like in Madrid or Paris.”

LH plans to open five new destinations to China’s Shenyang and Qingdao, as well 61 new connections, beginning with its summer schedule from the end of March.

Article Source : ATW Daily News