Lufthansa and Airbus have ended their extensive A380 route-proving programme with a distinctly Bavarian flourish, landing in Munich.Having flown more than 60,000
kilometres on its route from Frankfurt to New York, Chicago, Hong Kong
and Washington, the aircraft made its final landing.

Since 17
March, the two partners have been testing all the important processes
involved in the operation of the A380 under realistic conditions. In
all, 3,750 Airbus and Luft-hansa staff as well as guests had an
opportunity to experience a new dimension in air travel during the 65
hours the aircraft was airborne. During the route-proving exercise, the
A380 also made its first-ever landing in the United States.

Passengers aboard the route-proving flights were enthusiastic about the
qualities of the new aircraft and were particularly struck by the A380’s
light and airy, spacious and quiet cabin. The Lufthansa captains were
impressed by the aircraft’s manoeuvrability, while the Lufthansa crew
praised the level of cabin comfort.

 

“We are delighted that that we have been able to work with Airbus as a
partner for innovation and actively accompany and support the
development and route proving of this new aircraft type with our
expertise and experience - as we did with earlier models,” said
Lufthansa CEO and Chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber. During the preceding test
and development stages, Luft-hansa was the exclusive partner of the
European plane maker - for example, during the important A380 evacuation
test at the end of March 2006 and the first A380 Early Long Flights
(ELFs) conducted by Airbus in September 2006.

 

Lufthansa has ordered a total of 15 of the new wide-bodied Airbus A380s
- more than any other European airline. The A380 will enter scheduled
service with the airline in the summer of 2009.
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