by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 1, 2015 | Featured, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik Component Services |
Lufthansa has for quite some time provided the facilities aboard their long haul aircraft that would allow for the transportation of a passenger who requires Intensive Care. Known as the Patient Transport Compartment (PTC), the unit is a fully equipped compartment that provides all of the necessary medical equipment needed to transport a patient requiring specialized medical care. PTCs are usually used to fly a passenger who is already ill and is traveling to seek treatment.
Up til now, LH’s long haul A330, A340, and 747-400 all had the capacity to provide an airborne ‘ICU’. Beginning this month, the 747-8i and A380 fleets will also be certified for PTC use so that this program is now available anywhere on Lufthansa’s long-haul network.
Inside Lufthansa’s Passenger Transport Compartment.
The unit itself is a bit of an engineering marvel. Developed by Lufthansa Technik, it is set up to be a plug-and-play solution. The PTC can be installed in any long-haul aircraft by simply removing a few rows of seats in the rear part of the center economy section. The PTC is large enough to keep the patient comfortable as well as provide ample room for the doctor, Lufthansa medical officer or family members of the patient. The unit is sealed off for the privacy of the patient and for the safety of the other passengers.
An example of the PTC installed aboard a 747-400.
Passengers who need to be transported in a PTC can contact LH to make arrangements to have the PCT installed for their flight. For more information, visit LH’s dedicated webpage for this program.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 31, 2015 | Business Class, Featured, Lufthansa |
Each month LUFTHANSA updates the status of their Business Class retrofit progress across the long haul fleet. This month’s update confirms that 91 long-haul aircraft now feature the new Business Class cabin. That means that 8 additional aircraft now sport the new Business Class Cabin as compared to the May Update.
Here is the breakdown by Aircraft type and then by specific aircraft registration:
The aircraft registration codes that are highlighted in green represent the newly retrofitted aircraft added to the report for this month.
Airbus A330: D-AIKP, D-AIKQ, D-AIKR, D-AIKS (These 4 planes were line-fit meaning that they were delivered by Airbus with the seats installed). D-AIKA, D-AIKB, D-AIKC, D-AIKD, D-AIKE, D-AIKF, D-AIKG, D-AIKH, D-AIKI, D-AIKK, D-AIKM, D-AIKN, D-AIKO have all been retrofit by Lufthansa Technik. 90% of the A330 fleet has been retrofit.
Airbus A340-300: D-AIGM, D-AIGS, D-AIGO, D-AIGV, D-AIGT, D-AIGN, D-AIFE, D-AIGZ, D-AIFC, D-AIGX, D-AIGU, D-AIGL, D-AIFA, D-AIFD, D-AIFF, D-AIGW, D-AIGY (All Retrofit). 100% of the A340 fleet has been retrofit.
Airbus A340-600: D-AIHB, D-AIHC, D-AIHD, D-AIHE, D-AIHF, D-AIHK, D-AIHL, D-AIHN, D-AIHQ, D-AIHR, D-AIHS, D-AIHV, D-AIHW, D-AIHX, D-AIHY, D-AIHZ (All Retrofit). 67% of the A340-600 fleet has been retrofit.
Airbus A380: D-AIMB, D-AIMC, D-AIMD, D-AIME, D-AIMF, D-AIMG, D-AIMH, D-AIMI, D-AIMJ, D-AIMK, D-AIML, D-AIMM, D-AIMN. MK, ML, MM, and MN were line fit while all other A380s were retrofitted. 93% of the A380 fleet has be retrofit, only D-AIMA remains.
Boeing 747-8i: D-ABYU joined the fleet during April. All 19 aircraft have the new Business Class.
Boeing 747-400: D-ABTK, D-ABTL, D-ABVO, D-ABVP, D-ABVU, D-ABVW, D-ABVX, D-ABVY (Retrofit). 47% of the 747-400 fleet has been retrofit.
If you have upcoming Business Class travel on Lufthansa, you can use this tool to determine if your flight will have an aircraft equipped with the new Business Class.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 31, 2015 | Cargo, Featured, Lufthansa |
Yesterday I wrote a brief piece regarding some news I was hearing from reliable sources that Lufthansa Cargo had altered their policy on the transport of Hunting Trophies in Africa. This involved a memo that apparently had been issued by LH Cargo’s manager in Johannesburg, South Africa.
After reaching out to my Lufthansa contacts last night, I was pleased to wake up to emails confirming yesterday’s suspicions.
Coming directly from Lufthansa Cargo, it is clear as to what LH’s updated policy is on the transport of Hunting Trophies in Africa:
EFFECTIVE MAY 30, 2015:
‘Lufthansa Cargo has decided not to transport any trophies of the African fauna, e.g. lions, elephants and rhinos, in or out of Africa – including legally hunted or legally acquired trophies.’
No longer is there the technicality regarding CITES policies that allows for export of some trophies if they are legally hunted. As far as my language skills are concerned, I interpret the LH statement as covering a wide range of animals and the trophies will not fly aboard Lufthansa aircraft even if they were ‘taken’ legally.
This topic has been near and dear to me for quite some time and I’m happy to see that LH has joined the ranks of other airlines such as South Africa, Emirates and British Airways who also have policies in place that prevent this kind of transport.
To me, this looks like the beginning of a trend in the airline industry and if enough voices start calling for bans on Trophy transportation, airlines will have no choice but to listen.
Ideally, these policies should become ‘Alliance’ policies where organizations like Star Alliance, Skyteam or OneWorld would require member airlines to adhere to a uniform set of rules when it comes to topics such as this.
It is interesting to note however that Delta came out with a ‘defiant’ statement recently indicating that they will continue to transport hunting trophies in and out of Africa. I wonder how long that lasts…..but I digress…..
For now, enjoy the fact that Lufthansa has listened to our voices and has taken steps necessary to play an important role in this important matter.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 30, 2015 | Cargo, Featured, Lufthansa |
Information is beginning to come from several reliable and proven sources that Lufthansa has issued a mandate instructing their African Cargo operations to place a ban on the transport of any African Hunting Trophy aboard LH Aircraft.
This memorandum may have been issued only in the last day or 2 and I am working to confirm additional details. What I understand so far is that the ban is effective immediately and covers any and all hunting trophies that originate in Africa.
With this new policy, LH has joined with South African, Emirates and British Airways in banning ‘Trophy’ cargo. Unfortunately Delta has issued a statement recently affirming that they will continue to allow transit of African Game Trophies aboard their aircraft.
More details as I learn them!
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 25, 2015 | Featured, Lufthansa |
Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Group’s CEO, has not ruled out the possibility of subjecting pilots to random drug testing as part of a new policy in the wake of the Germanwings disaster in March.
In an interview with Germany’s FAZ, Spohr, himself a former Lufthansa pilot, explained that such a policy could help identify pilots who are on medications that may make them unfit to fly or otherwise identify medications that the pilots are on that they did not disclose as part of the medical evaluations. This would most likely include screening for alcohol and illegal drugs as well.
From what I gather from the interview and other sources, LH would not administer the drug test but would have an independent third party take care of the screening. It was suggested that this can be something that comes directly from the German government as a mandate for any of Germany’s airlines.
On many levels this makes common sense. Most employers already have policies in their employer-employee agreements that subject employees to random drug testing. If professional athletes and Olympians do it, shouldn’t an airline pilot?
Of course, there may be a very loud NO coming from the union that represents pilots who may construe this recommendation as an invasion of the pilot’s privacy.
I for one am in support of such a policy. If I, as a relatively benign portfolio manager am subject to random drug screening, a pilot should be subject to the same policy.
What are your thoughts? Yes or No for random drug screening for those we trust with our lives?
