Fresh from Frankfurt! Go Inside First Class, Business and Economy on Lufthansa's New A380

Where: Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport, Hamburg, Germany

May 19, 2010 at 4:23 PM | by JetSetCD | Comments (3)

Heading to the second floor, for First Class and Business

Only a few hours ago, the first superjumbo Airbus A380 belonging to Lufthansa set out on its first flight, from Hamburg-Finkenwerder to Frankfurt International. We were onboard the flight, which should have only taken 40 minutes, but instead took over two hours as the plane made low passes over airports, factories where its parts were made, and even took a turn over Rotterdam for the scenery.

Before today, Lufthansa's new interiors for the A380 were kept tightly under wraps, especially so for First Class, which features an entirely new design for the eight seats, which cost around $10,000 per person for a round-trip from Frankfurt to Tokyo. So what makes them worth a hefty 10K? And how nice are the spiffified Business and Economy classes on the A380?

Check out the full photo galleries, after the jump!

Even though we weren't the only journalists on the trip, we were pretty much the only true blog. We've got more original photos and more detailed looks published than anyone else right now, and we're sharing it with you only hours after stepping off of the plane in the Lufthansa Technik hangar at FRA. So enjoy!

Quick facts about First Class:
· There are only 8 seats and no overheard luggage bins for high ceilings (storage is in the footrest and sides)
· The bed is 31.5 inches wide and 81.5 inches long. It is truly flat and has a big privacy screen, Paradies mattress, multiple positions, power supply for all worldwide connections and USBs, and a massage function.
· Each passenger gets a personal lockable closet with garment bag, amenity kits by Porsche Design with La Mer face creams, the freedom to dine whenever and with whomever they want (aside from crew, of course), and the benefit of sleeping in the first commercial airliner with air humidification. This is in addition to the use of the First Class lounge and their drive-you-straight-to-your-plane-in-a-Porsche service.
· First Class gets an in-flight cappuccino/espresso/latte machine, as well as "surprise moments" like the addition of items like ice cream sundaes, Oktoberfest specialties, a whiskey tasting or whatever Lufthansa feels like doing that day.
· Wondering about their two suite-like bathrooms? We'll have more on those tomorrow.

Quick facts about Business Class:
· Business class passengers share the upper level of the A380 with First Class, so they really never have to see economy.
· Larger luggage bins, side storage at the windows, and more leg room mean better Business space in general
· Each seat has power supply for all worldwide connections, including USB for charging or playing media from your mobile devices
· Business class will have access to the special A380-tailored airport lounges where available. Like First Class, they'll get to board straight from the lounge into the upper deck of the plane.

Quick facts about Economy:
· Updated seat designs mean 31" of leg room, which is 2 inches more than on other Lufthansa planes.
· Big TV screens, power connectors and USB ports mean ultimate connectivity. We charged our iPhone from the armrest, actually.
· A380s have more TV, more movies and more games on their in-flight entertainment than other Lufthansa flights. This includes three live outside camera channels—our absolute favorite.

Disclosure: We've snuck off to Germany for the A380 launch thanks to Lufthansa, but all views are completely our own

Related Stories:
· Behold! The First Pictures of Lufthansa's New Airbus A380 [Jaunted]
· Follow Along With Us on Lufthansa's First A380 Flight! [Jaunted]
· All A380 news [Jaunted]

[All photos: Cynthia Drescher for Jaunted.com]

Comments (3)

Return to » Fresh from Frankfurt! Go Inside First Class, Business and Economy on Lufthansa's New A380

31in is 2in MORE than their other planes? excuse me while i never fly lufthansa longhaul. that's appalling!

Actually 29" if standard on most carriers. While we said it's 2in more than other Lufthansa planes, it's actually more than most other planes in economy

i've never flown less than 31in longhaul thank god, and i've had 32 in a few times. even BA has 31 on its grotty longhaul planes - i thought the point of the A380 was to upgrade everyone's travelling experience?

Jaunted

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