Lufthansa and The First Class Duck Of Frankfurt — A Brief History and Gallery

As some who have flown with Lufthansa may know, there is a small, relatively secret “amenity” that puts a smile on the face of thousands who fly First Class on Lufthansa. Yes, I am talking about the Rubber Duck that adults go out of their way to acquire (NOT speaking from personal experience ).

I did some investigating to find the genesis of these Ducks, and reached out to Lufthansa to find out why and when did all of this happen. Thanks to Benedikt F. at Lufthansa for his invaluable help in providing me with the history and images that you’ll see here.

A brief story of the origin and history of the Ducks as told by Lufthansa:

“During the preparations for the grand opening of the First Class Terminal in November 2004, Lufthansa wanted to add a little portion of “personality” to the first class experience. So while looking around in the First Class Terminal, and finally reaching the bathrooms, Lufthansa had the idea of the rubber duck, which today is placed on the side of every bathtub.”

“To make it an exclusive product which is only available in Frankfurt, Lufthansa First Class Terminal is printed on the front of the ducks. Over the years “event” rubber ducks were produced. These include special editions for the soccer World Championship in 2006, 2010 and for the European Championship in 2008. Introducing LH’s Spa in the Lounge in 2009, a Spa Duck was designed. Also Christmas and Wedding Ducks where introduced during the years. At this point Lufthansa is very proud to see the ducks being offered on ebay as collectors’ items!”

I suspect that Munich got wind of what Frankfurt was doing, and decided that as the capital of Bavaria, that they too deserve to have their own Duck representing their First Class Lounge, and from that came Munich’s exclusive Bavarian Ducks (more on them later).

All of the photographs are courtesy of Lufthansa (thanks again Benedikt!) unless otherwise indicated.

Lufthansa’s Holiday Ducks Throughout The Years:

Not to be out done by the holiday ducks, these are just as great:

For a GREAT STORY about Mrs. LufthansaFlyer and Herr Business Duck, please click here.

Easter is also observed by the Ducks:

Just For Kicks – Tributes to Soccer World Cups & European Championships:

The Following Soccer Ducks Are Courtesy Of Milepoint.com’s ParanoiaTX:

Saving Face? The Spa Duck Courtesy of Lufthansa

Perhaps The Most Rare, The Honeymoon Edition:

Even though this post is focused on the origin of the Ducks in the Frankfurt Lounges, I wanted to to make sure that I took a look at the Munich editions. The core of the Munich collection is the male and female Bavarian model dressed in their appropriate Bavarian attire. I have noticed from personal experience that the female’s “Dirndl” is available in both green and brown versions:

For additional Pictures of the Bavarian Ducks from our recent trip to Italy, You can visit my dedicated Duck Gallery page here.

Hopefully I’ve covered the majority of editions that have come from Lufthansa’s First Class Services. If you have one thats not on here, please share a photo. I’ll be creating a dedicated page that will hold a gallery for the Lufthansa Ducks and would love to have as many versions as possible represented.