by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 21, 2016 | Featured, Fleet Update, Lufthansa |
After a few minor delays and a change in delivery order, Lufthansa was finally able to announce that it took delivery of their first A320neo aircraft. The ‘NEO’ or new engine option is an a320 model that promises better efficiencies thanks to new engines that have been developed for the bird.
Originally, Qatar was to be the first to take delivery of the NEO but they deferred when Airbus could not resolve a few minor engine issues to the satisfaction of Qatar. LUFTHANSA stepped in to the launch customer position after Technik engineers felt that the engine issues were easy to resolve within a short time frame. LH was to have taken delivery of the NEO late in December 2015 but Airbus delayed the delivery by another 3 weeks.
So what led to the delay?
The biggest obstacle that led to the minor delivery delay had to do with the Pratt and Whitney PW1100G engines that are powering some of these new NEOs. Due to the original design, the engine requires a several minute warm up at idle before thrust could be applied. Though this is not a safety issue for the engine when it is operated properly, it did cause a delay with regulators that were certifying the aircraft. Due to the engine needing the warm up period, the steps and processes to properly bring an engine to operating temperature had to be documented in the engine’s manuals as well as the checklist used by the cockpit crew when preparing the aircraft for departure.
As with any government agency, there is bureaucracy, and with bureaucracy comes delays. It was these ‘paper delays’ by Pratt and Whitney and the regulators that led to the bulk of the delivery delay of the aircraft. With all that behind Airbus and Lufthansa, we can look forward to the new birds showing up over the next several months.
The new A320neo. Photo courtesy of Lufthansa.
This first NEO, D-AINA, is now in Hamburg at LH Technik facilities where it is being prepared to enter service. If all goes to plan, D-AINA will be transferred to Frankfurt on January 24 and will enter service at that point. She will initially fly between Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich.
The NEO promises to increase fuel efficiencies by approximately 15 percent while reducing external noise levels by 50% compare to the current A320 model. The new aircraft also comes with Sharklets installed on the wing tips which further enhance the aircraft’s performance and handling. Unfortunately with the cratering of oil and fuel costs, the cost/benefit ratio of the airplane is not as good as it once was, but nevertheless we’ll have new airplanes to enjoy for a long time to come. At least the fleet will be more efficient by the next time fuel prices skyrocket.
LH has 116 A32x NEOs coming to the fleet. 45 of of them will be A321s while the rest of them will be A320s. Five A320s will delivered to LH in 2016 and will all be based in Frankfurt. These airplanes are destined to replace the current and less efficient A320 and A321s in the fleet.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 17, 2016 | Fare Sale, Featured, LCC, Lufthansa, Premium Economy |
Lufthansa’s Premium Economy fare sale between the USA and Europe has some attractive deals that are available for booking until the end of the month. One of the best offers is between Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg (Russia) for only $959. Granted that this is operated through their ‘JUMP’ LCC concept, but the seat and cabin is identical to the mainline version.
Otherwise, most of LH’s destinations in Europe can be reached from the East Coast in the $1,100 – $1,400 range while fares from the Midwest and West Coast start in the mid $1,500 area and work their way up to $1780 for departures from Houston and San Francisco. These sale fares are booking into ‘N’ class so you’ll earn 100% of miles flown for your Miles & More account.
The fine print:
Fare sale ends on January 29, 2016
Departures must take place between January 31 and March 17, 2016.
Return travel must take place between January 31 and June 30, 2016.
Maximum stay of 3 months.
Tickets must be purchased 14 days ahead of departure date.
Need to figure how which seat to choose? Refer to this post that covers the Premium Economy Seating Charts for the fleet.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 15, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, On Board Experience, Passenger Experience |
Later this month, Lufthansa is set to unveil their latest digital innovation when they launch ‘eJournal’ for their passengers.
Beginning Thursday, January 21, eJournal will allow passengers to use their ‘Smart’ devices to download newspapers, magazines and other digital content so that they can be enjoyed during flight. This will also mark the beginning of the end of print material that will be available on board for most flights (more on that later).
eJournal is designed to be fairly simply to use. Passengers simply need to visit www.LH.com/eJournals within 3 days of their scheduled departure in order to select the content they wish to download. You’ll need to your ticket number or PNR code in ‘log in’ to eJournal. Initially passengers will be allowed to download two ‘pieces’ of content. Once the content is downloaded it will be available for you to use even after your flight.
According to LH, the program will expand in March when they plan to add additional content and to increase the amount of downloads that passengers can make from eJournal. It looks like LH will provide additional eJournal benefits for passengers traveling in premium cabins as well as for passengers who have certain status levels within Miles & More beginning in March as well. There is also talk of premium eJournal content being made available for a fee but nothing has been decided as yet.
I mentioned earlier that this marks the beginning of the phase-out of print material on board LH flights. For now, Lufthansa will keep printed material available in First and Business Class cabins, in all lounges and for flights leaving major airports in Germany including Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart.
