The best and most unexpected thing on the ground

Lufthansa is fond of branded goodies, which show up at every event we have ever had. Often they are wearable and sometimes they even have blinky LED lights in them. In the past I have avoided these trinkets, but the transparent planes bearing our logo which were passed out today were attractive even to me.

Apparently Lufthansa ordered 1,000 blinky planes, more than twice the number of passengers on board the A380 today. After five boxes disappeared in the span of about an hour and a half, a colleague and I gave up our own because the Lufthansa crew wanted them too, and we were short a few. My friend Antonia really worked the crowd waiting outside customs, spotting all the children and approaching their parents to tempt them with the toys.

The blinky planes have three settings: steady on, slow blink, and alarming (the latter made my heart race). The still photo just didn't capture the effect, so I also got it on video. (It's the bit that looks like electric jello.)

Memorable quotes

If I were to compare it to driving, you would think this would be like driving a truck or a bus. It's like driving a Ferrari.

--Lufthansa pilot Juergen Raps, when asked by the media how the A380 handles

Memorable quotes

For the moment, the A380 is what passes for a rock star in the aviation business.

-- Frank Jackman, Aviation Week's MRO Blog, passenger on board LH8940/19MAR2007

Inside JFK, day one

Dozens of Lufthansa employees donned A380/Lufthansa polo shirts to identify ourselves to the press, Airbus crew, and several large groups of passengers who arrived on the A380's first visit to the US under flight number LH8940 this afternoon. We met these privileged people just outside customs in Terminal One, guiding them to their respective destinations: upstairs to the lounge for the press conference (media and Lufthansa crew of 35), to the charter bus headed straight for the hangar (Airbus crew), to the charter buses headed for the hotels (passengers).

Several reporters were present already, waiting to interview the passengers who experienced the luxury of the A380; by all accounts it is a comfortable cabin, roomy but not huge, which is so quiet you don't even feel like you are airborne. The Lufthansa crew members that I spoke with, including the purser, felt honored to be part of this moment in aviation history.

1st A380 close-up

Wow, and here comes already the first pic of the A380 on its way to JFK. LH employee Heike was up on the roof of the East Meadow building and took this nice shot. Isn't it a real jumbo?

A380 on its way to JFK

The A380 just flew over the LH building in East Meadow. Wow, this was so exciting! I was not aware that it will fly over our building here in Long Island but then suddenly everyone in the office ran to the window and shouted "the A380, the A380". And there it was, the king of the skies. Ahh, I can't wait to get a close-up on it at the cabin tour.

The Today Show: Special report on A380 visit

The Today Show just broadcasted a report (see the video) on todays flight from Frankfurt to New York. One of their reporters is acutally on the plane right now.

LH 8940 heads across the pond

According to flightview.com the A380 with the Lufthansa flight number LH8940 took-off in Frankfurt (FRA) at 9.10 am local time and is expected to land at 11.29 am (ET) at JFK. You can track the flight live or read more on the following cnn article.