The first Boeing 787 in Lufthansa’s intercontinental fleet, registered D-ABPA, was christened at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) by Mayor Franziska Giffey.
«The first Dreamliner in our long-haul fleet is named ‘Berlin’, because the company has a long and special relationship with the capital. Lufthansa has been a strong partner of the German capital since its founding in Berlin in 1926. Since we were allowed to fly to Berlin again in 1990, no other airline has brought more travelers to the region,» said Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
Lufthansa was founded on January 6, 1926 in Berlin and was headquartered there until 1945. After World War II, only Allied aircraft were allowed to land in the divided city. Lufthansa only resumed operations in the German capital in 1990.
Lufthansa Group is the largest airline operator at Brandenburg Airport. Currently five airlines of the group connect Berlin with Germany and the world. For this winter season between Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and Eurowings will offer a little less than a third of the operations in the German capital.
According to data compiled by Aviacionline via Cirium, by the summer of 2023, Lufthansa Group will have 197,506 weekly seats on offer at Brandenburg Airport, the company will account for 40% of operations in Berlin. In addition, the group is represented in the German capital, as is Frankfurt, with all its important business segments.
«Lufthansa and the German capital are linked by a long tradition. The company was founded in Berlin in 1926 and developed into one of the world’s leading airlines. Today, the Lufthansa Group connects Berlin with the world,» said Franziska Giffey, Mayor of Berlin.
I am delighted to be able to christen Lufthansa’s first Dreamliner ‘Berlin’ today with ‘Berliner Weiße’, as befits the occasion. I wish ‘Berlin’ a good flight at all times,» said Giffey.
First intercontinental destination for Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Beginning in December, the D-ABPA will perform its first long-haul operation on the Frankfurt (FRA) – Newark (EWR) route. The Dreamliner will fly its first commercial service on October 19 between FRA and Munich (MUC) with three daily flights. This will allow crews to conduct their training and familiarization flights with the aircraft before starting any long-haul service.
Flight schedule
- Frankfurt – Newark Flight LH 402 FRA 13:25 – EWR 15:55
- Newark – Frankfurt Flight LH 403 EWR 18:05 – FRA 07:30+1
See also: Lufthansa unveiled new seats for its wide-body aircraft
