Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt Airport - 2012

Lufthansa has a separate First Class Terminal Building at Frankfurt Airport for the use of its first class passengers. It is the first of its kind in the world and can only be described as lavish, even more so than most private aviation executive FBO’s. The terminal can only be used by passengers flying Lufthansa First Class or Lufthansa's Miles & More HON Circle members. They also must be departing on a flight operated by Lufthansa Group owned carriers: Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines Group, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Regional or SWISS. This very exclusive terminal has 200 staff and is used by about 300 passengers daily. It provides individualised security screening and customs facilities, valet parking, a white-linen restaurant, a cigar room, a fully-stocked bar with vintage spirits, and even bubble baths. Passengers clear exit immigration controls in the terminal and then are driven from the terminal directly to their aircraft by a chaffeured Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Porsche Panamera. The commercial success of the First Class Terminal at Frankfurt has led Lufthansa to plan the opening of a similar facility at Munich Airport.

Excavation for T3 began in 2012 on the site of the former Rhein-Main U.S. Air Force Base. This new terminal is south of the existing terminals and should be able to house up to 25 million passengers and will feature 75 new aircraft positions. An extension of the people mover system SkyLine is planned to transport people to Terminal 1, the airport train stations and Terminal 2.

In 2011 a large office building called The Squaire (a portmanteau of square and air) opened at Frankfurt Airport. It was built on top of the Airport long-distance station and is considered the largest office building in Germany. The main tenants are KPMG and two Hilton Hotels.

Frankfurt am Main Airport, which opened in 1936, was all but closed to international service during and after the WWII years from 1939 to 1951. Over sixty years later, Frankfurt is a global success story and is the third busiest passenger airport in Europe behind Paris Charles De Gualle and London Heathrow. It is globally known for its efficiency and has contributed strongly to Lufthansa’s success as LH’s main hub. FRA is the busiest cargo airport in Europe and the busiest airport in Germany. As of 2011, it was the 9^th busiest airport in the world. The Lufthansa Cargo hub is noteworthy for its home of the world’s largest operating fleet of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11.

The most important product of Lufthansa Technik for maintenance and overhaul of aircraft is Total Technical Support TTS. This product integrates all services of Lufthansa Technik. LHT has its major operations in Frankfurt and Hamburg, Germany and other locations around the world.

Lufthansa Cargo operates McDonnell Douglas MD-11 Freighters and Boeing 777-200 freighters from 2013. Frankfurt is the busiest cargo hub in Europe.

Airchive was given the VIP treatment thanks to the wonderful Fraport team going on the Frankfurt Airport ramps, airfields, through the terminals, and behind-the-scenes in May, 2012 as we flew in for the Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Inaugural Flight.

Lufthansa is steadily replacing its 30 Boeing 747-400s with the new 747-8 Intercontinental, of which it has 8 on order, as of 2012. The Dash 400s are due to leave the fleet by 2015.

Lufthansa operates a fleet of 60 Airbus A321s, the largest such fleet in the world. This example is painted in the early 1960s retro scheme.

United operates to Washington Dulles, Newark, Chicago O'Hare, Houston, and San Francisco Dulles from Frankfurt using 747-400s, 767-300s, and 777-200s.

Frankfurt Airport am Main Terminal 1 Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 – 2012

Singapore Airlines flies Airbus A380s from Frankfurt to Singapore and New York JFK

Lufthansa operates the largest fleet of McDonnel Douglas MD-11 Freighters in the world with 18 examples. These are beginning to be relocated by Boeing 777-200 Freighters beginning in 2013.

Air Canada serves Calgary, Montréal-Trudeau, Ottawa, Toronto-Pearson from Frankfurt

Highlights of a unique book documenting the legend that was Pan Am by 75 writers who were there at the important and news-making events that shaped the airline’s life.

To order “Pan Am: Aviation History Through the Words of its People”, contact Jeff Kriendler at jkriendler@aol.com or (305) 866-2115

Airchive webmaster Chris Sloan at Frankfurt am Main Airport with Condor Airbus A330 – 2012

ANA launched the world's first long-haul services using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The services commenced in January, 2012 between Frankfurt and Tokyo Na

China Southern Airlines Airbus A330-300 – 2012

China Southern Airlines Airbus A330-300 First Class Suites – 2012

China Southern Airlines Airbus A330-300 Business Class Cabin – 2012

China Southern Airlines Airbus A330-300 Economy Class Cabin – 2012

China Southern Airlines Airbus A330-300 IFE Inflight Entertainment System – 2012

China Southern Airlines Airbus A330-300 Business Class Lunch – 2012

China Southern Airlines is the world’s sixth-largest airline based on passengers carried, and Asia’s largest in both passengers carried and fleet size. It is based at Guangzhou, but also operates a hub at Beijing Capital International. It was dounded on July 1, 1988 as an outgrowth of CAAC. It’s main competitors are China’s other “Big Three” airlines Air China and China Eastern. China Southern is a member of SkyTeam Alliance. CZ operates a massive fleet approaching 450 aircraft from A319s to A380s (which are also operated domestically).

China Southern operates 8 Airbus A330-300s with 6 on order and 15 of the smaller A330-200s with 1 on order. This particular example is an Airbus A330-300 which features 4 lie-flat seats in 1 row of First, 48 seats in a 2-2-2 config in Business Class, and 208 economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration for a total of 284 seats. These photos were taken on the quick 2 ½ hour flight 3908 from Shanghai’s domestic airport, Hongqiao to Beijing Capital Airport in July, 2012. The roomy First Class Suites feature a seat pitch of 78”/26” width, Business Class are generous at 74” pitch/20” width and also lie-flat, Premium Economy has 37” pitch/17.2” width and Regular Economy is also generous at 35”/17.2” width of pitch. Interestingly personal TV IFE’s are only in First and Business on the Airbus A330s. Economy shares overhead monitors. Regardless, the selection of video and music titles on domestic flights at least, are very limited particularly to Western tastes. There are high-quality destination videos and duty free shopping on the IFE’s. The quality of food, menu selections, and very accommodating service are world class. Interestingly though on our 12:00pm flight, the only alcohol offered was beer. The short flight aboard was very nice with the only issues being the IFE system resetting and the non-functioning moving map.

Bus to Beijing! Airchive flew China Southern flight 3908, an Airbus A330-300 from Shanghai Hongqiao, SHA, to Beijing Captial, PEK in July 2012 in Business Class. We photographed the entire, well-appointed cabin.

Shanghai Surprise

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, SHA, is now Shanghai’s number 2 airport since the opening of Pudong, but it is far from a ghost down. In fact, since Pudong’s 1999 opening, SHA has only become busier and larger. It is the 4^th busiest airport in China and 41^st in the world. Hongqiao Airport is the hub for China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines. The airport is principally used for domestic flights and international “city-to-city” flights to similar airports such as Seoul Gimp and Tokyo Haneda. SHA is located much closer in to Central Shanghai than Pudong. It is amazing to thing that less than 15 years ago, Terminal 1 of Hongqiao Airport was the only airport serving Shanghai, China’s business hub and second largest city.

After re-opening in 1964, the original Terminal was expanded and renovated in 1984 and then from 1988-1991. The dated but often renovated T1 is home to the international flights of Air China, Air Macau, ANA, Asiana, China Airlines, China Eastern, Dragonair, EVA Air, JAL, Korean, and Shanghai Airlines; as well as Spring Air’s domestic flights. In preparation for the Shanghai Expo, on March 16, 2010 Hongqiao Airport added 11,000 foot second runway and the new Terminal 2, boosting Hongqiao's capacity to 40 million passengers a year which is four times the size of the original Terminal 1 and now houses 90 percent of all airlines at the airport. It is massive and one of the newest terminals in China. T2 is home to domestic flights of Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Hebei Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, Shandong, Shanghai, Shenzen, and Xiamen Airlines.

Shanghai Surprise!

Airchive flew out of Shanghai’s original and now number two airport, Hongqiao, in July 2012. Expecting a second tier domestic only facility, we were quite impressed by the scale and design of the new Terminal 2. SHA also has limited International flights, along the lines of Seoul Gimpo but not to the extent of Tokyo Haneda.

China Southern Airlines – 2012

China Southern Airlines is the world’s sixth-largest airline based on passengers carried, and Asia’s largest in both passengers carried and fleet size. It is based at Guangzhou with its major hub, but also operates a smaller hub at Beijing Capital International. CZ flies to 65 international destinations, mostly from the Guangzhou hub as Air China controls Beijing and China Eastern controls Shanghai. It was founded on July 1, 1988 as an outgrowth of CAAC. Its main competitors are China’s other “Big Three” airlines Air China and China Eastern. China Southern is a member of SkyTeam Alliance. CZ operates a massive fleet approaching 450 aircraft from A319s to A380s, which are the only A380s operated domestically as well as internationally. The A380s operate domestically from Beijing and Shanghai to Guanhzhou. CZ is well known for its service and is the largest airline in the world to hold a 4-star SkyTrax rating. China Southern owns 60% of Xiamen Airlines.

Founded in 1987 as an outgrowth of CAAC, China Eastern Airlines is based here at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. It has hubs at Hongqiao (domestic and Asian city-to-city international) and at Shanghai Pudong (international long-haul and regional Asian). China Eastern also has hubs at Kunming Wujiaba International Airport and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. China Eastern Airlines is China's second-largest carrier by passenger numbers, after China Southern, and the world’s third-biggest carriers by market value. China Eastern Airlines has a strong presence on routes in Asia, North America and Australia. They are expanding into Europe with service to London and Stockholm, with other cities such as Rome on the drawing board. The airline is also expanding domestically from its Shanghai hub to other Chinese cities. On 16 April 2010, China Eastern Airlines announced an initial agreement to join SkyTeam unusually alongside competitor China Southern. Also in 2010, China Eastern acquired Shanghai Airlines, but both airlines will retain their own identities and brands.

China Eastern is predominantly an Airbus customer flying all versions from the A300 to the A340 with the exception of the A380. They fly 81 Boeing 737s as of 2012 and hav 20 Boeing 777-300 ERs on order. There is a smattering of CRJ-200s and ERJ-145s operating the short-haul/thin routes. The fleet totals 300 plus aircraft with over 100 on order.

Xiamen Airlines

Xiamen Airlines was the first privately owned airline in China, back in 1984. It is based in the Northwestern Chinese industrial city Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport and, to a lesser extent, Fuzhou Changle International Airport. Xiamen operates a predominantly Boeing fleet including 737-700s, 800s, 757-200s, and has 6 orders for the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and 6 Comac ARJ21-700s. Under the aegis of parent China Southern, Xiamen is a member of SkyTeam Alliance.

Shenzhen Airlines is a domestic and international airline headquartered in Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.

With a fleet of over 100 Narrowbody aircraft (a mix of A320 series aircraft and various 737 types), Shenzhen Airlines is the fourth largest domestic carrier (after China Southern Airlines, China Eastern and Air China) with around 7% of seat capacity and flights.

The carrier operates a total of 137 domestic airport-pairs involving 58 Chinese airports, plus nine international routes. In 2010, the airline carried 16.5 million passengers, up 9% on the previous year.

On 6 July 2011, Shenzhen Airlines was formally accepted as a future member of Star Alliance. Joining in late 2012 the airline will become the alliance's second member in China following the departure of Shanghai Airlines in 2010.

Courtesy: Wikipedia