They call her the Queen of the Skies – Boeing’s 747-8 is a graceful giant, a fast-moving monument and a record holder in quite a few disciplines. These days, we’re adding another Queen to the Lufthansa Queen Fleet: Our fifth 747-8, coming straight from the Boeing factory in Everett, is getting ready for its inaugural flight to Hongkong.

At this point you may know many things about this plane. You may be well informed, and you may have seen many pictures. But we believe that there are a few questions about this kind of delivery that are not often asked, but may produce interesting answers. For your delight and information: our OAQs – Occasionally Asked Questions – about 747-8 delivery.

Where does the new 747-8 come from?

It comes straight from Boeing’s Everett factory in Washington, USA.

Is it delivered free to the Lufthansa hangar?

No, it is not delivered at all. It is picked up ex works by a Lufthansa team.

Is it delivered fully fueled?

No, it is not delivered at all. 

I’m sorry. Is it picked up fully fueled?

It’s partly fueled for the transfer flight. Full tanks would increase the plane’s weight – and therefore its fuel consumption. Since we’re picking up the plane ex works, we’re also paying for the transfer fuel.

Is the plane’s first long-haul flight already a commercial flight?

No. Its first long-haul flight is always the ex-works transfer flight. At this point, the plane is not licensed for commercial flights yet. Hence, only the Lufthansa acceptance team are its first passengers – a maximum of fifteen people.

Is there a technical delivery and acceptance? Are tests being run during the transfer flight?

There is a technical acceptance process that lasts one week and takes place in Everett, with the acceptance flight stating the technical delivery and acceptance. There are no more tests during the flight.

Will there be a ceremonial reception for the new plane?

No ceremony, no reception, no brass band. Immediately after arrival, the plane is handed over to the technical department for fittings, furnishings and installations. Since most of the plane’s interior is not included in Boeing’s product, it needs to be installed during a two-week process.

When will the new plane be christened? Who gets to decide its name?

Planes in our fleet bear the names of German cities or federal countries. Cities can apply for partnerships, and the respective city’s mayor often attends the christening.

For the new Queen of the Skies, however, there will not be a special event, since she will bear the name of an older plane that has been taken out of service. We’ll reveal its name in the coming days.

Who gets to fly it first?

This honor goes to either the Technical Captain or the Director of the 747 fleet.

Where will the new member of the Lufthansa royalty go on its first commercial flight?

The new 747-8 will fly from Frankfurt to Hongkong on Sunday, March 31. You can still get a ticket. Hongkong is an amazing place.

 All photos © 2011 Boeing. All rights reserved.

They are so much more than just a cosmetic addition: Our new A320 comes with Sharklets, wingtip devices that help increase aircraft efficiency by reducing lift-induced drag. But of course, they also look really good and they make for an excellent photo opportunity.

Following last week’s introduction, we’re happy to be able to present more photos of the new A320 with Sharklets, this time from Felix Gottwald, pilot and excellent aviation photographer. Be sure to take a look at his works at http://www.felixgottwald.net. Thank you, Felix.

All photos © Felix Gottwald – http://felixgottwald.net

If you happen to be swimming and you see two shark fins to your left and right, you’d be right to be very concerned indeed. But if you’re on an airplane, shark fins are in fact great news! Let us introduce you to our new Airbus A320 with Sharklets. Sharklets are shark fin-like extensions of the plane’s wings and have been in use since the last century, though mostly on small aircraft. But following a successful testing period, the new Airbus A320 will now be incorporated into the Lufthansa fleet.

This is not the first time we look to fishy predators for inspiration and innovation. Just last month we told you about our testing, together with Airbus, of a material that mimics sharkskin that would be embossed in the paint of the aircraft. This fantastic meeting of nature and technology focuses on the riblets found in the skin of sharks, which work to reduce surface resistance when moving at speed. Applying this concept to an aircraft would mean greater efficiency and lower operating costs.

Which is precisely the name of the game when it comes to the sharklets on the wings! But how exactly do they work? Well, when it comes to aircraft, it’s all about reducing the lift-induced drag, which, to explain in its entirety, would involve a dazzling array of formulae, diagrams, charts and probably a physics professor. Simply put, it’s basically a force that occurs whenever a moving object has to redirect the flow of air coming towards it. The focal point of this type of drag on an aircraft is at the wingtips, where circular patterns of rotating air, called wingtip vortices, form while the aircraft is in flight, and these vortices come hand-in-hand with induced drag. By reducing drag and vortex effects, we can make our planes more efficient and make flying an even safer affair.

So, just how much benefit do you get from having sharklets on your wingtips? Aircraft fitted with them reduce fuel burn by up to 3.5%, and that’s a lot when you consider the resulting CO2 omissions – an annual reduction of around 1.000 metric tons per aircraft! That’s roughly the equivalent of the annual emission of 200 cars. And the benefit of these wingtip devices doesn’t stop there – they also result in an increase of over 100 nautical miles in range, and an improved takeoff performance, as well as the 2% savings in engine maintenance costs due to the lower levels of thrust required, all thanks to the sharklets.

Also, they really look sharp, don’t they?

She’s small, she’s sweet, she’s soft, she’s in love with eucalyptus. The whole world adores her kind. And yet, she’s without a mate – on Valentine’s Day! This needs to change.

Which is why yesterday, on the day of St. Valentine, two-year-old Alinga left her home in Duisburg. She boarded a Lufthansa flight LH077 in Düsseldorf, flew to Frankfurt and took the connecting flight to Edinburgh to meet her new friends Goonaroo and Yabbra.

Whether or not sweet Koala romance ensued, whether or not she really did #fly2love – we’d prefer to be very discreet about it.

Alinga’s trip to Scotland is part of a European Koala breeding program coordinated by the Duisburg zoo. With natural Koala habitats threatened and disappearing in many regions, breeding programs are an important part of the conservation of this possibly endangered species.

It’s that time of the year again, friends! It’s time to celebrate! It’s time to ignore the gothic cathedrals and the statues of Cristo Redentor, the beauty of the Rhine and the majesty of Sugarloaf Mountain for a while. It’s Karneval, Carnaval and Carnival all at once.

Carnivals go way back to ancient pagan winter solstice celebrations, later adapted by Christians. Fast forward to 1823, past French and Prussian occupations, and the city of Cologne had established the organized carnival we know today.By then, the characters of the virgin, the prince and the farmer had become a regular fixture.

Of course, Carnival is not unique to Cologne – readers of these pages will remember when we wrote about the world famous Rio Carnival. Coincidentally both Carnivals peak at the same time – last weekend and today! And there are more similarities between the two than you might think…

Temperature in Rio is high at this time of year, so it’s no surprise that costumes in wintry Cologne are not quite as revealing as their Brazilian counterparts. But both have a big fancy dress element that plays a big part in the event. In Rio your costume is a reflection of the themes of the samba school you’re parading with. In Cologne brighter is better. You still see many people dressed in traditional costumes of the town crier or the officer of the guard, but many modern homemade outfits, too.

Where there is a party, there are drinks, and while the Brazilians are sipping on their caipirinhas, our fellow Germans in Cologne also have a specialty. It’s Kölsch, Cologne’s traditional beer specialty. It has its own culture, which fits well with the carnival atmosphere: It’s encouraged to be drunk by groups of men and women with mixed social standing. Exclusiveness is very much frowned upon by Kölsch culture.

You have the audience, you have your drink, now you need music. In this department, though, Cologne and Rio could not be further apart. The hypnotic pulse of the samba rhythm is Rio’s bread and butter, but the people of Cologne have their own folk songs, too. Local bands really know how to get everybody singing together in glorious unison. Expect to hear some favorites such as ‘Viva Colonia’ and ‘Rut und Wiess’ several times a day – plenty of opportunities to fine-tune your dialect!

People on opposite sides of the world love to party, but they do it on similar terms, just with small cultural differences. The underlying themes are universal: a street carnival should be a celebration put together by the people, for the people. So when Rio and Cologne sealed a city partnership in 2011, it was in part to celebrate a universal idea. Let’s join in on the fun!

All Cologne photos: J. Rieger, Cologne / Festkomitee Kölner Karneval
All Rio photos: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo / Leandro’s World Tour

This is not an IRREG announcement.

Don’t be alarmed. The sound you are hearing is our sigh of relief. The sun has come to Germany to resolve our most pressing problems. Last week, Germany’s main airports Frankfurt and Munich were in the grips of winter. Due to the unforgiving sleet, more than 600 flights had to be canceled. Train tickets and replacement flights had to be booked, camp beds were set up, sandwiches and water were given out and our social channels became a news outlet for IRREG announcements – postponed flights, cancelled flights, disturbances.

“Wait a minute,” you say. “What’s so IRREG about winter? It does come once a year – that seems rather regular to me.” You’re right. And the airports are well prepared for regular winters – they know their way around snow. But they can’t be prepared for every worst-case scenario. What Frankfurt and Munich would have needed to prepare for a situation like Monday’s: a complete backup airport up their sleeves, complete with favorable weather conditions.

We’re not exaggerating. Monday had no precedent in the age of mass air transit. It took thousands of liters of hot water and deicing solution to prepare planes like the A380 for takeoff – up to six times the usual amount. Still the deicing teams were often forced to abandon their efforts. In addition, many flights got cancelled because the planes supposed to leave Frankfurt had never arrived there in the first place as the airport had to be closed off on Sunday due to the bad weather.

Since we could not avoid cancellations, we worked hard to reduce their impact. We’d like to thank the staff in Frankfurt and Munich for providing service and assistance – and we’d like to say thanks to all our passengers for being patient and understanding. 

If the sun alone could not resolve your IRREG problems, contact us and we’ll do our best. Should your baggage not have arrived yet, please check the online tracer or get in touch with us.

All photos: © Fraport AG