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Inside Frankfurt Airport's Completely New A-Plus Concourse: Six Million Travelers Can't Be Wrong

Where: Frankfurt International Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
November 16, 2012 at 1:42 PM | by | Comment (1)

Last month, Lufthansa opened the brand-spanking-new A-Plus Concourse at Germany's Frankfurt International Airport. Why's it so special? Well, among other things, it's directly designed for the biggest, baddest airplanes out there. We're talking A340s, 747s, 747-8is, and the almighty A380. This week, we'll take you inside and all around this place through which some 6 million travelers will journey each year.

0500 hours.

The seatbelt sign is on and traytables are up and locked. The Lufthansa Airbus A380 named "Tokio" is on final approach to Frankfurt International and we're inside.

Seat 15K.

It's a window, upper deck, right over the hulking wing of this superjumbo. Looking out, the airport on the horizon glows with the fluorescence of its millions of lights, pre-dawn. Usually we're not super anxious to leave a plane to experience the airport, but Frankfurt is an exception.

Wheels down.

Turning off onto the taxiway, we can already spot the many Lufthansa crane logos that adorn each Star Alliance gate. It's pretty obvious who rules this coop.

Rounding a corner, the A380 aims for its new home on the ground—a long, sleek concourse with gates and facilities designed for its massive dimensions. Whereas the plane squeezes itself into other airports, like buttoning pants two sizes too small, here it finds Frankfurt's just-opened A-Plus Concourse is tailor-made with breathing room. Once we've parked, three jetbridges stretch out to welcome over 500 passengers into these fresh digs.

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Alaska, Austrian Airlines and Frontier Bring Plenty New Route News This Week

November 16, 2012 at 9:20 AM | by | Comments (0)

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Alaska Airlines:
To us it’s pretty clear that Alaska Airlines may like Hawaii even more than Alaska. They're about to send even more love out to the islands, as once again they’ve announced another nonstop flight over to Hawaii. This time it looks like San Diego will be getting a flight right over to Kauai—Lihue to be specific.

The flights will start up on June 7 of next year, and will be a nice compliment to the other flights out of San Diego to the islands of Maui and Oahu. That’s not the end of the news, as Alaska Airlines is also linking San Diego with Boston beginning on March 29. They might be totally different destinations, but if you’re in San Diego both Hawaii and Massachusetts are now one flight closer.

· Austrian Airlines:
It’s time for yet another new nonstop flight over to Europe. The plan is to connect Chicago with Vienna beginning on May 17, 2013, five times per week. Boeing 767s will be doing the heavy lifting across the Atlantic, and the flights will have lie-flat beds up in the business class cabin as well as a new in-flight entertainment system in both cabins. In total there will be around 26 nonstop flights between North America and Europe next summer, so no matter when you need to go—Austrian Airlines has got you covered.

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Inside the Lufthansa Lounge at New York's JFK Airport

Where: JFK International Airport [map], New York , NY, United States
November 13, 2012 at 1:16 PM | by | Comments (0)

Last month, Lufthansa opened the brand-spanking-new A-Plus Concourse at Germany's Frankfurt International Airport. Why's it so special? Well, among other things, it's directly designed for the biggest, baddest airplanes out there. We're talking A340s, 747s, 747-8is, and the almighty A380. This week, we'll take you inside and all around this place through which some 6 million travelers will journey each year.

Before we can have a peek around the A-Plus Concourse at Frankfurt Airport, we've got to get there first! LH 401 leaves JFK at 3:45pm and arrives FRA just after 5am, as one of the absolute earliest flights to put its wheels down at Frankfurt International each day. As you've effectively got to hit the ground running, it's extra important that those pre-flight hours are extra restful or productive. This is where the 16,000-sq ft Lufthansa Flagship Lounge at JFK's Terminal 1 comes into play.

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AeroMexico, Lufthansa and easyJet Start This Week's New Routes Party

October 26, 2012 at 9:26 AM | by | Comments (0)

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· AeroMexico:
You’ve had enough of the beach, and now you’re looking for something with a little European flair—we’ve all been there. Well thanks to AeroMexico that’s now possible, as the carrier is getting ready to fly between Mexico City and London-Heathrow.

Flights are scheduled to depart from Mexico on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, as the new flights are ready to start doing their thing on December 14. It sounds like this is nonstop option number three over to Europe from the folks at AeroMexico, and we’ve got to say that we are already looking for more—the more the merrier when it comes to new routes.

· Southwest Airlines:
As part of the overall merger between Southwest Airlines and AirTran there’s been all kinds of moving and shaking with Southwest’s routes. This week brings some new options and new changes, as they’re changing things up at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

AirTran will now be flying down to the Dominican Republic each and every day of the week beginning in April of next year, as long as the government is cool with their plans. As for Southwest it looks like they’re kicking the new route excitement into overdrive with their plans for Flint, Michigan. We kid because we love—the three daily nonstop flights between Flint and Baltimore will start on April 14.

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Seven Secrets Inside Lufthansa's Exclusive First Class Terminal

Where: Frankfurt International Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
October 23, 2012 at 3:21 PM | by | Comments (0)

SPOILER ALERT. If flying First Class is on your to-do list and you'd rather "open the gift" of the First Class Terminal when that day comes, stop reading now!

It's an almost mythical place, the First Class Terminal (FCT) at Frankfurt International Airport. In the darkness of the autumn evening, just before the last flights depart ahead of the 11pm curfew, a little building just off of Terminal 1 glows with the golden crane of the Lufthansa logo.

We've previously shown you all around the spaces and even detailed what whiskey to order, but looking a little closer there's far more to explore.

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Fingers Crossed Your Next Frankfurt Flights Fly from the 'A Plus' Concourse

October 10, 2012 at 11:47 AM | by | Comments (0)

2.5 years. TWO POINT FIVE YEARS.

2.5 years is how long it's been since we first used a mobile boarding pass on our iPhone. It was a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Hamburg and that mobile boarding pass served not only to get us through security at FRA but also worked at self-boarding gates to scan us into the jetbridge to board the airplane. It may have been a short flight, but the technology was in it for the long-haul.

Today Lufthansa opens an extension of Terminal 1 at Frankfurt International, called the A Plus Concourse. The statistics are staggering—it's been under construction for four years yet opened on time (take that, Berlin-Brandenburg), it's 800 meters long, cost €700 million to build, can accommodate six million additional passengers every year, and is equipped with seven new gates (four of which can handle the superjumbo A380s). Still, what the average passenger is most likely to "ooh" and "aah" over? The technology.

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Lufthansa Does a Little Brand Reshuffling to Prep for a New LCC

September 25, 2012 at 9:15 AM | by | Comments (0)

The world won’t be complete until each and every major carrier spins off its very own low cost carrier, and honestly that’s fine with us. Sometimes we don’t need handholding through each step of the booking and boarding process, and getting there with a cheapo carrier is something half the fun—kind of. Anyway, it looks like Lufthansa is the latest to focus on the discount model, and they’ve got all kinds of plans ready to go.

We haven’t had a chance to check out the PowerPoint, but it sounds like the mission involves merging their European and domestic options into a new carrier in hopes of shaving costs and improving efficiencies. These flights will be blended into the Germanwings brand as of January 1, as the carrier looks to fend off the competition in the region. Flights doing their thing with the Lufthansa livery out of spots like Frankfurt and Munich will continue to do so, as the plan doesn’t involve mixing things up at these two hubs.

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Duty-Free Shopping Must-Haves: Airline Exclusives

September 21, 2012 at 4:42 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you're anything like us, you probably think that the in-flight duty-free shopping catalog can eat up a good chunk of time on long-haul international flights and provide a few giggles or unique gift ideas. This week, we'll dive into the pages of some favorite airline shopping magazines and highlight our picks for the just-can't-live-without items.

Most airlines have a thorough understanding that including some exclusive merchandise in their duty-free catalog will prompt passengers to hand over their cards in exchange for the unique products. In our travels, we have come across a number of items that we had to take a second to think if we actually needed it or had enough room in our carry on. Here are some highlights from our mile high shopping.

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Ein Prosit! Lufthansa's Special Oktoberfest Crew Starts Flying Tomorrow

Where: Germany
September 20, 2012 at 3:37 PM | by | Comments (0)

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Oktoberfest season is one of the best seasons! There are so many reasons, least among them all the special beers and the crispness of fall in the air. On the travel end, it means Lufthansa flight crew dressed in traditional Bavarian costumes.

2012 is the seventh consecutive year for the team of 14 known as the Lufthansa "Trachten Crew," but you'll only find them passing out pretzels and greeting you with a hearty "Grüß Gott" on specific flights into and out of Munich.

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Duty-Free Shopping Must-Haves: Child's Play

September 20, 2012 at 1:58 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you're anything like us, you probably think that the in-flight duty-free shopping catalog can eat up a good chunk of time on long-haul international flights and provide a few giggles or unique gift ideas. This week, we'll dive into the pages of some favorite airline shopping magazines and highlight our picks for the just-can't-live-without items.

Next time your are on an international flight, don't forget about the littlest frequent flyers on your souvenir list. Most duty-free trollies have enough plush animals and plane toys to stock a Toys-R-Us. Long live the days when children were happy with with a set of plastic wings and a visit to the cockpit. Here's some of our favorite options:

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Duty-Free Shopping Must-Haves: In-Flight Comforts

September 17, 2012 at 1:42 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you're anything like us, you probably think that the in-flight duty-free shopping catalog can eat up a good chunk of time on long-haul international flights and provide a few giggles or unique gift ideas. This week, we'll dive into the pages of some favorite airline shopping magazines and highlight our picks for the just-can't-live-without items.

Today we bring you items that can be purchased on board to use while in-flight. Whether you're using them to make the travel experience a whole lot more comfy or to burn up a few hours before the initial decent into your destination, this is our short list of stuff to keep an eye out while thumbing the pages on your next flight:

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This Week Brings New Cities and Destinations to JetBlue, Spirit and More

September 14, 2012 at 9:23 AM | by | Comments (0)

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· JetBlue:
Usually when JetBlue is planning to arrive in a new city there’s some rumors and news preceding the big announcement, but this week we were kind of caught off guard. JetBlue just announced that Charleston, South Carolina will be their latest destination, and the flying fun will be done to cities like Boston and New York. Flights will head back and forth twice per day between New York, and just once per day to and from Boston. All the new options start up on February 28 of next year, and all the flying fun will be done thanks to a little assistance from some of JetBlue’s Embraer E190s. Oh—and of course—the live television and snacks will be free.

· Spirit Airlines:
Hopefully you weren’t too attached to Spirit Airlines and their service to and from Washington-National Airport, as it looks like the planes and pilots are on the move. Spirit is flying out of town in favor of utilizing the somewhat nearby Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Apparently the airline wasn’t too pleased with the ability to expand and grow at an airport that kind of has rules against growth and expansion. They’re already added a new option over to Dallas/Fort Worth, and that joins Ft. Lauderdale as their other nonstop option. You know the deal when it comes to Spirit Airlines, so just watch those fees!

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