Lufthansa Technik delivered the second governmental Airbus A350-900 for the German Armed Forces on Wednesday. The aircraft, which received the tactical registration 10+01, was christened «Konrad Adenauer» in honour of the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The aircraft will soon join the fleet of the Special Air Mission Wing of the Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg) and will serve as a means of transport for government officials and parliamentarians on long-haul flights.
The aircraft arrived at Lufthansa Technik in March 2021 directly from the Airbus factory. Since then, it has undergone a comprehensive overhaul: as a result of the work, it has the first «full government cabin».
Thus, the interior differs substantially from that designed for the world’s first governmental Airbus A350, which was delivered to Germany in 2020 and since then has been operating under registration number 10+03. However, the unit will soon be retrofitted with the same passenger cabin.
New «government» cabin
In contrast to the open, shared cabin design of the first aircraft, the interior of the «Konrad Adenauer» features functional areas that are structurally separated from each other. In this way, the layout resembles that previously offered by Airbus A340s performing the same tasks.
Furthermore, the new aircraft has improved areas for delegation members and modernised galley equipment.
«Ceremonial handovers of new aircraft to the German Armed Forces have already become a fine tradition for us in recent years», stressed Soeren Stark, CEO of Lufthansa Technik. «The aircraft christened today is not the first Airbus A350 handed over by us to the German Armed Forces, yet it bears all the insignia of a new flagship with the registration number 10+01 and the history-steeped name Konrad Adenauer», he added.
The third governmental Airbus A350, which will receive the registration number 10+02 and will be christened «Theodor Heuss», is currently being fitted out at Lufthansa Technik’s Hamburg facility.
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