The FINANCIAL — One of Lufthansa's Airbus A380s is now the proud bearer for the first time of the name of “Wien“.
The naming ceremony, attended by 250 invited guests, was held at Vienna Airport shortly after the mega-jetliner's early-morning arrival in the Austrian capital. Vienna Airport is the central hub of Austrian Airlines, which is based there as one of the Lufthansa Group Airlines. It accordingly plays an important role in the global route network of the Lufthansa Group. “The naming of the most modern and biggest aircraft type in the Lufthansa fleet after the Austrian capital underlines the importance of Vienna in our operations, “ said Stefan Lauer, Member of the Lufthansa Executive Board and Supervisory Board Chairman of Austrian Airlines AG.
After opening remarks from Stefan Lauer, the Vienna Mayor Dr. Michael Häupl poured sparking wine over the giant plane before unveiling the name of “Wien” emblazoned in elegant lettering on the aircraft's huge fuselage. Following completion of the naming ceremony's official and symbolic activities, the guests of honour boarded the double-decker aircraft to enjoy a closer look at the cabin and its design. Lufthansa's new flagship will leave already this evening on a scheduled flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg to begin carrying its new name around the world.
The German airline is already operating eight Airbus A380s on long-haul services from Frankfurt to Asia (Tokyo, Peking), Africa (Johannesburg) and North America (New York, San Francisco, Miami). Two more of that type are scheduled to join the fleet next year. The newly named A380 “Wien”, registration D-AIMG (known internally as “Mike Golf“ after the last two letters), has been in service since May and has meantime logged around 1,500 flying hours on about 330 flights in the Lufthansa timetable. The “Wien” attracted particular attention on 7 May when circling Hamburg in formation with the legendary oldtimer Ju52, operated by the Lufthansa Berlin Stiftung, to mark the 822nd anniversary of Hamburg harbour. Together with the entire Lufthansa A380 fleet, the “Wien“ is based at Frankfurt Airport, from where it flies on scheduled services to all the aforementioned destinations. Passengers from Austria fly into Frankfurt to board connecting flights to any of the A380 destinations. In the coming winter timetable, the Airbus 380 will also be flying daily to Singapore. The Airbus A380 seats 526 passengers in the best and most modern service classes in the Lufthansa fleet. First Class with eight spacious seats on the upper deck is totally new and the essence of individuality. The world's biggest Business Class with 98 seats on the upper deck and Economy Class with 420 seats on the main deck offer unprecedented comfort in an impressively roomy cabin interior.
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