Just a very brief post this morning.

Lufthansa’s 747-8i is set to debut in Los Angeles later today when it arrives at approximately 1:00pm (Los Angeles time). Flight 456 from Frankfurt is being operated by D-ABYA, which was the first 747-8i delivered to Lufthansa and which entered service on June 1.

I was fortunate enough to be in Frankfurt in June for the event celebrating the launch, and was equally fortunate to have experienced the 747-8i First Class cabin a few days later. Its a wonderful aircraft!!

I also had the chance to be on the observation deck in Frankfurt when D-ABYA left for Washington Dulles on her maiden voyage on June 1.

Next up for the 747-8i as far as US cities are concerned will be Chicago.

On Lufthansa’s flight LH403 on November 18, the Co-Pilot on the flight from Newark to Frankfurt fell ill with a serious migraine which left the aircraft to be piloted by only the captain. Although it is perfectly safe to have only one pilot fly the aircraft, having someone in the cockpit to assist no doubt helps, especially should something happen to the remaining pilot.

Everything worked out well, as a passenger who happens to be a 767 pilot (who is also certified for the 747) for a US based carrier was on board and offered to assist the Captain.

Due to the nature of the medical emergency, the flight diverted safely to Dublin, Ireland (morning of November 19) to ensure that the co-pilot received immediate medical assistance. After a delay of a few hours, the flight continued on to Frankfurt.

This Journal.ie article contains a voice transcript of the flight as it approached Dublin.

source: DailyMail UK

BRUSSELS AIRLINES has launched a fantastic new contest on their Facebook page that will award 1 lucky winner a fantastic trip to New York City!! Included in the prize is Round Trip Airfare for 2 from Brussels to New York (JFK), 3 Nights at the Sofitel New York and €500 in spending money to help buy souvenirs!

The contest is easy to enter. First, visit Brussel Airlines’ Facebook Contest Page HERE. Once you provide your contact information, you’ll be taken to another screen where you’ll be asked answer a trivia question related to New York City (In my example, it was a question about the size of Central Park in hectares).

Once you answer that question you are taken to another screen to select a virtual gift box which contains a monetary amount good towards your “Virtual Trip Budget” amount. Select one of these boxes to see how much “Money” you’ve earned towards your budget.

The ultimate winner of this contest will be based on who has the largest “Virtual Trip Budget” budget at contest’s end. This makes it important to enter EVERYDAY since that will give you the best chance to win.

In addition to the fantastic Grand Prize, BRUSSELS AIRLINES will also be awarding great daily prizes. Each day during the contest, there will be 1 daily winner who will receive 2 Roundtrip tickets either to Barcelona, London, Berlin, Madrid or Milan.

This contest only runs this week and ends at Midnight (CEST) on 9 November!

GOOD LUCK!

A few details about the contest:

Entry period: 5 November to 9 November 2012 (Midnight CEST).
Travel Period (For Grand Prize and Daily Prize Winners): Travel must take place between 1 December 2012 and 30 June 2013. Keep in mind the following hotel black out dates: 04/12 to 09/12, 27/12 to 31/12 and 03/06 to 04/06.

Based on my interpretation of the rules, it seems that the contest is open to everyone, regardless of country of residence. Minors are eligible as well, provided that they have parental permission.

You can read all of the Terms and Conditions HERE.

Lufthansa Group’s decision to streamline operations and transfer domestic and intra-european flights (except for those operating from Frankfurt and Munich) exclusively to Germanwings is starting to show up in their reservation systems.

Over the next few days, expect to see “LH” flight numbers to be replaced with “4U” flight numbers across most flights that do not operate to or from Frankfurt or Munich. For those of you unfamiliar with Germanwings, “4U” is their IATA Airline code just as “LH” is Lufthansa’s.

It looks as though Berlin-Stuttgart has already gone through that changeover and several “4U” flight numbers are already in place. I looked at several sample bookings and have seen many instances of the new “4U” flight numbers. “4U” flight numbers will be in the 4U2000 and 4U8000 ranges.

Two weeks ago, Lufthansa decided to retain the “Germanwings” name as it consolidates it Regional and Germanwings division into one Low Cost Carrier (LCC). Expect additional announcements between now and year’s end regarding topics such as flight booking, existing reservations in place for 2013 and frequent flyer program impact. I’ll certainly be covering these topics as they evolve.

Recently, Lufthansa Cargo had introduced to me to one of their MD-11 Pilots and were kind enough to allow me to conduct a brief interview with him. I have talked several times about Lufthansa Cargo and thought this time to look at the company from a “human interest” perspective.

Tim H. started with Lufthansa’s Passenger Airline Group as a pilot before making the shift to Lufthansa Cargo. In the past, Tim has been fantastic with providing information for some of my Cargo related posts and I’m grateful for his agreeing to the brief interview.

Many thanks to Lufthansa Cargo for granting me the opportunity, and many thanks to Tim for his time and great answers.

LufthansaFlyer (LF): When did you first realize that you wanted to be a pilot?

Tim: I wanted to be a pilot since I was a little boy. I have always loved flying and spending time at or around airports. This has never changed.

LF: What was the first airplane that you flew as a pilot (even going back to your days as a student pilot)?

Tim: When I was in flight school, I started on the Piper PA28 Archer. The next planes were the Beech F33A Bonanza and Piper PA42 Cheyenne. My first passenger plane was Lufthansa’s B737. After having flown there for four years I changed to Lufthansa Cargo where I currently fly the MD11 freighter.

LF: How did you come to be a Lufthansa Cargo pilot?

Tim: After some while at Lufthansa passenger airlines I was thinking about my next career step which is usually the upgrade to a long range fleet. Colleagues told me about Lufthansa Cargo which was one possible option. It aroused my curiosity and I decided to join that fascinating segment of Lufthansa. Never regretted it – great decision!

LF: What hobbies do you enjoy when not in the air?

Tim: I love reading, music and travelling.

LF: What Lufthansa Cargo “destination” is your favorite to fly to? Why?

Tim: Quito in Ecuador is one of my favourites and also of our most special airports due to its high elevation and the surrounding breathtaking volcano landscape. Furthermore the city, the country and its people are really nice. But after all, I really love all of our destinations since I believe every place holds some special secrets to discover.

LF: What preparations do you go through on a day that you are scheduled to fly?

Tim: I pack my luggage which is always a challenge especially for trips that include a plus 20 centigrade mild Hong Kong followed by a freezing minus 20 centigrade Krasnojarsk. I look at the current weather and those of the following days for all of the places I am supposed to fly to. I make sure to arrive timely at our base, i.e. 90 minutes before departure when we meet for our briefing. Then finally I meet with my colleagues and we work through the flight plan and papers, decide for the fuel and get the airplane running to make sure we leave on time.

LF: What has been the single most unique Cargo item that you have transported?

Tim: I once had the opportunity to be one of the pilots for a relief flight to Santo Domingo with over 80 tons of goods for the Haitian people and especially kids after the earthquake in 2010.

LF: How many trips do you take in a typical month?

Tim: Lufthansa Cargo pilots fly about 18 days per month. Given the average trip length of 6 days this means 3 trips. But we also have shorter trips of 1 or 2 days and a maximum length of over 10 days.

LF: What part of being a pilot do you find most rewarding?

Tim: The fascination of flight itself, plus possibly one of the most exclusive offices in the world and getting connected to places and people from so many different places all around our globe within a wink of time.

LF: What advice do you have for aspiring pilots that one day hope to fly for Lufthansa or Lufthansa Cargo?

Tim: Study hard and never stop dreaming.

To learn more about Lufthansa Cargo please visit Lufthansa-Cargo.com. For great video content, please visit their dedicated YouTube Channel showing great video footage of their aircraft and in-flight operations. In addition you can find them on FACEBOOK and on Twitter: @LufthansaCargo .

Lufthansa has further updated their Long Haul Timetable for Summer 2013. The most “important” update as far as I am concerned is that the 747-8i will fly from Frankfurt to Washington DC on a daily basis beginning May 12. Currently it flies the route only 5 times a week.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PREVIOUS LUFTHANSA TIMETABLE UPDATE FROM OCTOBER 13.

THE LATEST UPDATE:

Frankfurt–Bangalore effective between June 18 and July 11 will be flown by a 747-400 instead of the 747-8i.

Frankfurt–Bogota begins daily service on October 28, and will continue through the Summer 2013 timetable.

Frankfurt-Jeddah will operate an A330-300 except on Sundays when an A340-600 will fly the route.

Frankfurt–Orlando beginning March 31 will be flown by a 3 class A340-600.

Frankfurt-Orlando effective October 1,2013 will be operated by a 747-400.

Frankfurt–Rio de Janeiro daily service that is being launched October 28 will continue through the Summer 2013 timetable.

Frankfurt–Toronto effective between August 30 and September 30 will be flown by a 747-400, replacing an A340-600.

Frankfurt–Washington Dulles effective May 12 (Flights LH418 & LH419) will be flown by the 747-8i on a daily basis.

Courtesy: www.AirlineRoute.net

Just because the Olympic Games have ended, it does not mean that the celebration can’t continue for at least a little longer!

To that end, Miles & More has partnered with Lufthansa Private Jets to bring us a fantastic contest that will award the winner and 5 friends a trip aboard a Lufthansa Private Jet from Frankfurt to an Olympia of their choosing!

The group will be able to choose from the following ‘Olympia’ Destinations (included is 1 night’s lodging for the group):

Olympia, quarter in Helsingborg, Sweden
Olympia, Music Hall in Paris, France
Olympia, Restaurant in Prague, Czech Republic
Olympia, Town in Greece
Olympia, Harbor in Barcelona, Spain

To enter the sweepstakes, you must complete 5 levels of flying an aircraft around clouds using your “mouse button” to control altitude. With each progressive level, the clouds grow and it becomes more difficult to navigate. For each level that you complete, you are entered to win a prize of Miles & More miles. The levels are as follows:

Level 1 = 2,500 award miles (25 winners)
Level 2 = 5,000 award miles (10 winners)
Level 3 = 10,000 award miles (5 winners)
Level 4 = 20,000 award miles (1 winner)
Level 5 = Main Prize (1 winner)

Once you complete all five levels, your entry should look like this:

The Main Prize winner must complete the trip between 15 September and 30 November 2012.

The contest deadline is 31 August 2012 and the winner will be notified by e-mail shortly thereafter.

To enter the contest, PLEASE USE THIS LINK.

Keep in mind that the contest is only open to European residents. However, I suspect your companions need not be European residents, so if you win, just remember your friend that afforded you this opportunity !!

For more Terms/Conditions, please read them HERE.

Good Luck and Avoid The Clouds!

Lufthansa Cargo had recently shared with me some interesting facts and figures about their operations that raised an eyebrow. Normally one looks at an airline cargo company as an expediter that transports goods from one location to another faster than virtually any other mode of transport. In most cases, this activity is usually measured in numbers: Tons Transported, Load Factors, Sales, Revenue etc.

“WHAT” is transported is usually not the critical piece as long as the numbers hit their goals. But in this case I am going to look into “WHAT” Lufthansa Cargo transports and I think you’ll come away a bit surprised at some of the contents that have enjoyed a ride on Lufthansa Cargo aircraft.

The following statistics (2011 data) highlight some of the more interesting and unusual contents transported by Lufthansa Cargo flights and by no way include everything that they transport each year:

80,000,000 tropical fish for the Aquarium industry.
25,915 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables.
20,000 tons of plants and flowers.
14,000 Cats and Dogs.
11,100 tons of seafood.
3,500 tons of fresh meat.
2000 Horses (Hundreds are polo horses from South America).
1200 tons of Roses for Valentine’s Day.
300 tons of Worms (Bait for the European angler industry).
6 Hippoptamuses.
2 Leopards.
1 Giraffe.

And by far the single most important piece of cargo:

4 life saving organs per day. Which translates into potentially 1460 lives being saved each year thanks to Lufthansa Cargo.

As you can see by this list, Lufthansa has a penchant and is a specialist in transporting Animals. To that extent they have a dedicated Animal Lounge that is designed to ensure the safe and humane transit of livestock. To learn more about the “Animal Lounge” please read my previous story on the facility.

To learn more about Lufthansa Cargo and its storied 100 year history from it’s earliest days to it’s latest accomplishments, please take a few minutes to watch this video that was created to mark their 100 year milestone:

Special thanks to Michael Göntgens, Head of PR & Internal Communications for Lufthansa Cargo AG for providing some of this eye opening and interesting information.

To learn more about Lufthansa Cargo, please visit them on Lufthansa-Cargo.com or their Facebook Page.

Austrian Airlines today took delivery of 2 Airbus A320 aircraft as it begins to migrate to an Airbus-only fleet for its medium-haul service. In all, 7 new A320′s are expected to be in the fleet by the end of next year. The 2 delivered today are scheduled to enter service later this quarter or early in the 4th quarter of this year. As each new A320 enters service, one 737 will be removed (4 have already been sold). Currently Austrian has a total of 15 A320 and A321′s and 7 Boeing 737′s.

The decision by Austrian to move to an all Airbus fleet for it’s medium haul service is as a result of extensive cost cutting measures initiated by the airline earlier this year. As a member of The Lufthansa Group, it has been challenged by the parent company to return to profitability under Lufthansa’s Group SCORE initiative. The word from Austrian is that a return to profitability is actually possible yet this year.

Standardizing its fleet as much as possible is seen as a necessary step to reach their profitability objective. With an all Airbus fleet for their medium haul routes, they will recognize substantial savings on crew expense and parts inventory/maintenance since they will no longer have to maintain parallel processes for 2 different aircraft models.

Austrian still operates 6 Boeing 767′s and 4 Boeing 777′s on it’s long haul routes along with an assortment of Bombardier and Fokker aircraft for it’s short haul schedules.

At the moment Austrian is saying that it will continue to operate Boeing Aircraft on it’s long haul flights, but I can’t help but wonder if that attitude will change over time especially when the A350′s start entering service. Having a standardized fleet across it’s entire operation should only bring additional efficiencies and savings to Austrian. More to come on this since their 767′s and 777′s are not getting any younger!

Earlier today The Lufthansa Group released their capacity and passenger traffic statistics for the first half of 2012. In all, The Group recognized an increase in passenger traffic of 3.9 percent as compared to the first half of 2011.

An increase in passenger load was recognized across all airline segments including Lufthansa (including Regional and germanwings), Austrian and Swiss which demonstrates broad based growth across The Group’s footprint. Austrian (now Tyrolean) realized the biggest gains in both passenger traffic and load factors.

As part of their 1st Half/2012 performance metrics, The Group was also able to increase the fleet’s load factor across all Group airlines. For the first half of 2012, The Group increased passenger loads by 1.8% and increased revenue passenger/kilometers flown by 2.8%. In other words, more passengers flew on fewer flights, which certainly enhances The Group’s operating efficiency.

During the first half of 2012, The Group operated 512,140 flights as compared to 517,809 flights during the first half of 2011.

Breakdown by Airline:

Lufthansa (including Regional and germanwings):

35.8 million passengers in the 1st half of 2012, up 3.4% over same period in 2011.
Passenger load factor increased from 75.7% to 76.5% for the first half of 2012.

Swiss:

8.095 million passengers in the 1st half of 2012, up 4.1% over same period in 2011.
Passenger load factor increased from 79.3% to 80.5% for the first half of 2012.

Austrian:

5.441 million passengers in the 1st half of 2012, up 6.7% over same period in 2011.
Passenger load factor increased from 70.7% to 74.0% for the first half of 2012.

Cargo:

Cargo continues to face substantial headwinds in part to a slowing economy on the European continent as well as service disruptions due to the overnight airport restrictions that have been implemented at Frankfurt.

For the first half of 2012 Cargo carried 864 thousand tons compared to 953 thousand tons in the first half of 2011, resulting in a decrease of 9.2%. The Cargo load factor decreased from 69.1% for the first half of 2011 to 68.4% for the first half of 2012.

In other words, Cargo was able to reduce capacity nearly in proportion with the decrease in tonnage carried so there was minimal waste of aircraft flying with lighter cargo loads.

germanwings (an lcc unit of Lufthansa Group) is currently running a fare promotion that adds just a bit of mystery and surprise to your travel plans.

How it works: You tell germanwings the kind of travel theme that you are interested in booking and they provide a list of potential destinations that you could be booked to. You don’t find out where you are going until after you book your ticket, hence the surprise. You do have some control however in that you can de-select cities from the pre-fixed menu of destinations.

First you pick your departure airport and the kind of travel theme you are interested in:

The next step is to select or deselect the cities that are potential destinations (there is a €5 fee for each airport you deselect):

From there you select your seats (keep in mind there is a surcharge to choose your seat at booking) at which point you are then taken to the billing page.

After you enter your payment details, you’ll finally find out where you are going!

The various travel themes have several cities that overlap. For example Berlin comes up for Shopping, Party and Metropolis Western Europe themes so you may see the same cities come up under different themes. I suspect that you can party, shop and take in a large European city by simply visiting Berlin.

Where I see this fare promotion being attractive is when you simply can’t decide where to go and you’ve narrowed it down to at least several cities, letting the airline make the decision for you in this case may actually be a good idea!

If you are off to Europe this summer you may want to consider adding an excursion like this within your trip. It may expose you to a city you had never thought of visiting!

To learn more about the options that are available from germanwing’s Blind Booking fare deals please visit their website.