German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG has confirmed the news story first broken by Bangalore Aviation yesterday, that it will operate its newest aircraft the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental to Bangalore and New Delhi soon.
The airline which took delivery of its first 747-8i just yesterday said it will commence services with flights between Frankfurt and Washington Dulles on June 1, 2012.
The next four destinations to be commenced are between Frankfurt and New Delhi, Bangalore, Chicago and Los Angeles. The airline is expecting to commence these routes within the current Summer 2012 schedule which remains in force till end October. The exact dates for commencement of operations have still to be finalised, and depend on how soon airframer Boeing makes delivery of the next four aircraft.
It appears that Lufthansa will commence its 747-8i flights to India, ahead of announced 747-8i services to Chicago and Los Angeles. The release from the airline says
New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chicago and Los Angeles will be added successively during the summer schedule with the arrival of four additional aircraft scheduled to join the Lufthansa fleet in 2012
Bringing its latest aircraft to India affirms the strong commitment of the airline to the Indian market, its second largest after the United States.
The 747-8i features Lufthansa’s new swanky Business Class product (see video and photos here), and has high ceilings, mood lighting, larger overhead storage bins, and other improvements inspired by the new generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Lufthansa’s Boeing 747-8i retains the same three class configuration, but with almost ten per cent more seats than the current generation Boeing 747-400 358 vs. 322. It has the same eight seats in first class, 92 in business compared to the current 80, and 258 economy class compared to the current 234.
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