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Lufthansa’s second A380 to be christened “München”

Wednesday 28, July 2010

The A380 offers the very highest standards of comfort with 526 seats – Christening ceremony with water from the Isar in an antique pewter urn – Proceeds from flights over the Alps to go to Lufthansa HelpAlliance.

Lufthansa will today be naming its second A380 the “München” after the city of Munich. The christening ceremony, which will be attended by about 200 guests of honour, will take place this morning in the Lufthansa maintenance hangar at Munich Airport. After the ceremony, the “München” will go on two sightseeing flights over the Alps. The proceeds from both flights will be donated to the Lufthansa HelpAlliance, which supports aid projects all over the world. The christening of Lufthansa’s second A380 at Munich Airport sees the airline make good on the birthday promise that it made at the city of Munich’s 850th anniversary celebrations: to name one of its first A380s after the Bavarian state capital.

“Lufthansa is proud to welcome the Airbus A380 into its fleet as its new flagship in long-haul traffic and ambassador that will carry the name of our Munich hub out into the world,” comments Christoph Franz, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group, during the naming ceremony. Thomas Klühr, Lufthansa Group Representative and head of Hub Management in Munich, adds: “We are very pleased to be able to welcome the soon-tobe “München” for a day out at our southern Lufthansa hub. The naming of our second A380 at Munich Airport represents a major highlight for our hub.” In his speech, Peter Ramsauer, the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development, states: “Today is an important day for Germany as a centre of aviation. The A380 is a joint European project that is of immeasurable importance to the economies of Germany and Europe. It is also an absolutely awe-inspiring masterpiece of European engineering.” Christian Ude, the Lord Mayor of the Bavarian state capital of Munich, adds: “As the largest and most modern passenger aircraft in the world, Lufthansa’s A380 will be an outstanding ambassador for Munich’s bid to host the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and one that excellently represents Munich as an international meeting place and city open to the world.” “Today marks a milestone in the development of aviation,” comments Michael Kerkloh, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Flughafen München GmbH. “The Airbus A380 represents a step into a new dimension of quality with its huge passenger capacity, modern equipment and excellent fuel consumption.” The A380 will be christened shortly before noon by the wife of Munich’s Lord Mayor, Edith von Welser-Ude. The “München” will be christened with water from the Isar filled in an antique pewter urn from 1880.

The donation cheque with the proceeds from the flights over the Alps and the associated fundraising events will then be presented to the Lufthansa HelpAlliance. A380 Captain and Lufthansa Passenger Airlines Executive Board member Jürgen Raps will hand the cheque over to Rita Diop from the Lufthansa HelpAlliance. The HelpAlliance was founded in 1999 by staff from across the Lufthansa Group. Its members have since been involved in countless aid projects across Africa, Asia and South America, as well as Romania. The Lufthansa Group has supported the HelpAlliance from the very start, not only with freighter capacities, but also with administrative tasks. The organization’s projects are supported on site by local partners with extensive experience in development aid. Lufthansa staff members assume personal responsibility for the projects and thus ensure that donations and supplies reach those that really need them.

The two roundtrip flights over the Alps are scheduled to take off from Munich at 1:15 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. and will last about an hour and a half each. The routes for the flights shall be determined by the weather conditions on the day. Ticket prices range from 99 euros for an aisle seat in Economy Class to 999 euros for a window seat in First Class, including all taxes, fees and the Lufthansa Ticket Service Charge. The seats were available on the Lufthansa website and sold out within a matter of hours. Thanks to individually adjustable in-seat screens at every seat, passengers without window seats will also be able to keep track of things and enjoy the view of the Alps from three different camera perspectives. First and Business Class passengers will have the opportunity to use the Lufthansa lounges in Terminal 2 before takeoff and First Class passengers will be provided with a limousine service to and from the aircraft. 

The “München” and the rest of the Lufthansa A380 fleet will be stationed at Frankfurt Airport. It will enter scheduled service on 4 August and join Lufthansa’s first A380 on the Frankfurt- Tokyo route. The arrival of Lufthansa’s second A380 means that the airline will now operate a daily service with the A380 from Frankfurt to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. The flight number will be LH710. The A380’s daily return flights to Frankfurt will be operated as flight number LH711. The Airbus A380 has 526 seats in the very best and most modern service classes that Lufthansa has to offer. The entirely new First Class cabin, which is located on the upper deck, offers eight deluxe seats and an individualized experience of air travel. The upper deck also accommodates the world’s largest Business Class with 98 seats. The 420 Economy Class seats on the main deck impress with generous dimensions and more comfort than ever before.

Updates and a wealth of background information on the new Lufthansa flagship are available on the lufthansa.com/A380 website.

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