These photos keep coming to my inbox in the form of a 2MB Powerpoint presentation. I would have uploaded them to Picasa, but I felt the captions are important, so to preserve them I exported it to HTML.
As far as I can determine, the photos are credited to Michael Schlicting of United Ground Handling Services. Although he didn't share them with me personally, I am glad he shared them with others in our industry. Thanks, Michael!
Found this video of a beautiful night landing of the A380 at Washington Dulles International earlier this week.
YouTube suggested this video as related to the ones we have been uploading. I have to say that the graphics are quite amazing, very realistic indeed!
Director of Customer Relations and Marketing Marcus Casey provided us with this clip of the A380 safety video, captured during its demo flight over Manhattan on March 21.
Wednesday was a much longer day than Monday. I was invited to an interior tour at Hangar 19 at 13:00 and nearly got lost on the way. Inside the hangar, a loungy tent with sofas, refreshments, and a coat check provided a comfortable spot to mingle among media and Airbus/Lufthansa execs. Many of my colleagues provided support at the affair, checking people in and giving out tour boarding passes.
Tours groups were about seven people in size, and Airbus VP Communications Clay McConnell escorted each group to the aircraft outside. Along the way he gave an informative chat, which included already known facts like the craft's height, wingspan, and engine thrust. However, he also pointed out that the plane is number 007 and that the tailsign ends in "JB" for James Bond. Additionally it can travel at 85% of the speed of sound - very impressive given its rave reviews for operating quietly, inside and out.
Clay explained that this aircraft is designed to test cabin systems, which means that its appointments were not standardized throughout; rather many different cabin options were on display. For instance, in some sections the seating configuration was 3-4-3 like the 747, and in others it was 2-4-2 like the A340. Different sections of the Economy Class cabin boasted varying color schemes and upholstery, and overhead bin sizes varied as well. The Business Class section was on the upper deck, while Lufthansa has already discussed configuring the upper deck for First Class instead.
I enjoyed Clay's introduction so much that after the interior tour, I asked him if he would mind if I recorded it for the blog. He graciously agreed (thanks, Clay :) I will update this post on Monday with the video.
Update: here is the intro video, as promised.
Today was day two at JFK, and I did not find any blinky planes around (they probably went like hotcakes again before I ever got there around lunchtime).
For those of you who have already inquired, I heard the flashy toys will soon be available through Lufthansa's USA Webstore, which can be found on the homepage at lufthansa.com under Information & Service > Lufthansa USA > Lufthansa Webstore. Since shipping for these items are only to USA addresses, you will find the webstore only if the USA is your default country, or by the direct link above.
One of the coolest things about the A380 that I learned on Monday is the system of three cameras which are attached to the outside of the aircraft. There is a camera on the tail, one under the belly, and a third near the cockpit. The best part is that the camera views are accessible through the inflight entertainment system.
My new friend Kevin Paige recorded this video of the takeoff from Frankfurt on Monday. Even though he didn't have a window seat, he always had a great view.
While working crowd control at the terminal today I met for the first time one of our account managers from Boston, Kevin Paige. We had a long discussion about his experience on board, which he really enjoyed. He also was interviewed by the Early Show when he arrived on Monday and posted the video coverage already.
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.)
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.
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.
After almost a year of negative publicity around the Airbus A380 program, I have the impression that this route proving program boosts the project again at least as regards Lufthansa employees ;). More than 13,000 participated in an internal sweepstakes for free tickets on one of the test flights. So I guess the flights are beyond all the tests a PR campaign particularly here in the USA.
Airbus even launched a new microsite to inform the public about the route proving program. Let's see whether it will really feature comments of passengers.. as announced in the 'share'-section.
I lay awake in bed last night, thinking about the events next week, about the aircraft, the security, the scores of people who are eager just to catch a glimpse. And I got suddenly nervous - afraid that someone will ask me a question I can't answer or that I won't do something right. So when I finally managed to fall asleep I spent most of the night trapped in a terrible dream: I had half an hour to report to the terminal Monday morning, and I did not own any navy blue slacks.
Those of us working the event for Lufthansa have already received navy blue A380 polo shirts which we are to wear with navy slacks. In my dream, I raced from store to store in the nearest mall, throwing things off the shelves in desperation, and no store I could find had a plain pair of navy slacks. It felt like the longest dream ever.
The smell of my husband's pancakes thankfully woke me, but not before the feeling of terror disappeared completely.
The A380 makes its American debut next week with arrivals on both coasts. At New York's JFK International Airport, Lufthansa will host the Eastern appearance of what some aviation enthusiasts refer to as "Airboss" - an apt name for the single largest passenger aircraft ever built.
There is significant interest in the craft's arrival, both inside and outside the aviation industry. Repeated mentions and threads on travel blogs and forums, as well as an influx of customer inquiries and internal discussions, have proven that. Everyone isn't invited to the events at JFK next week, but nearly everyone wishes they were. Fortunately, some of us are, and we want to share the whole thing here, with everyone who can't be there for whatever reason.
Then who am I?
My name is Michelle, and I do work for Lufthansa. I started in reservations ten years ago, moving later to technical support, and finally wound up under Marketing in Customer Relations. (Some of you may remember me from rec.travel.air.) While I'm not an aircraft buff, there is little that renders me quite as speechless as the sight of an aircraft at cruising altitude, and I am certain that the sight of the A380 will steal my breath altogether.
I managed to convince some of my colleagues to join me in relating the A380 debut experience through this blog. We invite your comments and open discussion (friendly and respectfully of course) and look forward to sharing our fascination with you!
