by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 9, 2017 | A350, Featured, Lufthansa |
While in Munich last week, I had the opportunity to finally see the A350 in action for myself during on of her training flights that was used to certify cockpit crew for the new Airbus.
After learning about her schedule, I took a chance that she would be be departing from the north runway at Munich so I made sure to be at the ‘Besucherpark’ observation hill well ahead of her departure time. My gamble paid off and I was offered a front row seat on a perfect day for departures. The sun was new, and a storm had just cleared the area leaving a perfect balance of light and background to capture the beautiful aircraft.
Not much else to say about it except enjoy the following pictures. She’ll become more and more common as she enters service next week to Delhi and over the coming months will be joined by 9 other sisters who’ll all be based in ‘MUC’.
Related:
The Lady In ‘Blau’
Lufthansa’s A350 debuts a new Economy Cabin
by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 6, 2017 | A350, Economy Class, Featured, Lufthansa, Passenger Experience |
During my trip to Munich for the A350 Roll In Event I had a chance to tour the aircraft’s interior and got my first close up of Lufthansa’s new Economy cabin that will be featured on the A350.
The changes are not subtle when compared to the most recent iterations of the typical Lufthansa Economy cabin. The biggest difference that will strike passengers immediately when they board will be the color scheme. Lufthansa has gone to great lengths to improve the ambiance of this 224 seat Economy cabin, featuring new color schemes and lighting technology. Not to mention, the new IFE system provides passengers with fantastic on-board entertainment.
First, let me show you the new interior. As I mentioned above, the color scheme is what draws the most initial attention. You’ll see that Lufthansa intentionally shaded the seats from darker seats along the windows to lighter colored seats in the center of the cabin. This was done to create an optical effect to help the cabin appear larger than it is. You’ll notice that in these shots:
You’ll notice the change of tint from the darker seat along the window, to the very light colored seat in center of the middle section. This was designed intentionally to give the cabin a sense of width and roominess.
The darker outer seats……
Perhaps the biggest improvement that comes with the A350 is the IFE system that the Economy class cabin will enjoy. Based on the Panasonic EX3 system, passengers will now be treated to the largest display ever to be installed on a Lufthansa Economy class seat. With this new system, passengers will be able to access upwards of 100 Movies, 200 TV shows and hundreds of Music and other entertainment options (games, reference, etc).
As I wrote in this post, this new IFE system will also allow passengers to pre-plan their viewing menu by using an App on their smart device. The ‘Lufthansa Companion App’ allows you to see your flight’s IFE menu up to 6 weeks ahead of your flight and you’ll be able to build your favorites list via the app. Then once on board, you’ll sync your device to your seat-back display and watch the things you wanted to see. With the new IFE system, you’ll also be able to stream the content directly to your smart device as well. Another first for Lufthansa.
Bigger, Better, Faster…..Lufthansa’s new IFE system aboard the A350.
One final special feature found aboard the A350 that will apply all 3 seating options (Economy, Premium Economy, Business) will be the use of special ambient cabin lighting. With this, cabin crew will be able to adjust cabin lighting from a menu of 24 different options. Each geared towards a specific on-board event or time of day.
For example, a ‘Boarding mode’ will feature natural tones of lights along with blue and yellow hints to suggest Lufthansa’s corporate colors. For takeoff, the mode would be set to reduce the brightness of the lights and create a neutral lighting environment. Another example would be the ‘Dining’ mode where passengers would be reminded of what lighting would be like in a restaurant. Sleeping mode would off course darken the cabin, but leave accent lighting on. Wake mode would have a gradual increase in cabin lighting, simulating a gentle sunrise so that passengers can awake naturally instead of being startled by a sharp change in cabin lighting.
From my time aboard the A350, I came away impressed with the strides that Lufthansa has made in making Economy class better. In my opinion, the new IFE system is what makes this Economy cabin so much better than other LH versions. Having a large screen with a retina quality display will help the hours fly by during a flight. We all know that a long haul flight in Economy can bring with it a certain level of stress. However, with the new features that LH has introduced to help passengers, it should make even the longest flights enjoyable.
Related: The Lady in ‘Blau’
by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 3, 2017 | A350, Featured, Lufthansa |
For you avgeeks near a few select German airports, Lufthansa has announced that the A350 will have a series of crew training flights tomorrow starting at 9:00a (departure from Munich), and returning to Munich at 5:00p
Here are the details per @LufthansaNews:
Related: ‘The Lady in ‘Blau’
by Lufthansa Flyer | Feb 3, 2017 | A350, Featured, Lufthansa, Munich, Passenger Experience |
I’m in Munich this week to attend the events surrounding the introduction of Lufthansa’s first A350 to the fleet. Though delivery happened back in December, it was last night at a special ‘Roll In’ event that the A350 was christened into service. To celebrate this important time in Lufthansa’s history, I’ll have several posts in the coming days that will cover the event. The evening was full of fantastic experiences and it would be difficult to summarize it into just one post.
The aircraft was positioned in one of Lufthansa Technik’s hangars which was filled with over 1300 guests invited by Lufthansa to share in the event. After brief addresses from key German dignitaries and leaders of Lufthansa and Airbus, the curtain was dropped to reveal ‘Nurnberg’, the name by which the A350 has been christened. Lufthansa maintains a long-standing tradition of christening their aircraft with names of various German towns and cities, as well as cities around the world that they serve.
The following photos are the very first ones that I took of the aircraft, before most of the attendees were able to gather around the aircraft. I especially liked how Lufthansa lit the aircraft in a flood of blue floodlights which really help bring out the design and architecture of the aircraft.
Enjoy these shots! Many more are on the way!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 31, 2017 | A350, Featured, Lufthansa, On Board Experience, Passenger Experience |
In addition to all the new technology and efficiencies found within the A350’s airframe, Lufthansa has added a twist to the Inflight Entertainment System that should ‘WOW’ passengers.
With the introduction of the A350, LUFTHANSA introduces a new tool that will allow passengers to customize what Movies, TV Shows, Music, and other media they can enjoy up to 6 weeks prior to their flight. By using the ‘Lufthansa Companion App’, you will now be able to see your IFE menu weeks ahead of your flight, and can use your smart-device or tablet to create your customized menu of content you wish to enjoy during your A350 flights.
Once you’ve installed the app, you can enter your flight details at which point you’ll be presented with your IFE menu. From that point, make your selections and when you board your flight you’ll be able to sync your customized menu to your seat-back display and will immediately have your personal list loaded onto the aircraft’s system. What’s more, you can also use your smart device separately to view your IFE selections while on board.
The IFE system on the A350 is a customized version of Panasonic’s EX3 system which has the capacity to provide upwards of 100 Movies, 200 TV shows, and a myriad of Music and other content. This clearly marks the best that LH has to offer when it comes to Inflight Entertainment Systems.
The App should be available in your ‘local’ App Store in the coming weeks, timed with the introduction of the A350’s entrance into passenger service on February 10.
I’ll get to see the new system up close and personal later this week. If the app is released by then, I’ll come back with a follow up showing how it works.
