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With this new aircraft, the German airline will increase its capacity by 30 percent
Houston Airport System
November 9, 2006

Really fast; all 14 wheels on the newest aircraft flown by Lufthansa are making a beeline towards George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) – the longest passenger aircraft in the world is now being operated by Lufthansa.

The Airbus A340-600 is making a debut at Bush Intercontinental just in time for an anticipated, record holiday season.

“We needed more capacity; passenger traffic is up,” said Jerry Kramer, station manager for Lufthansa at IAH. “This (new aircraft) will increase our total capacity for Houston operations by 30-percent.”

Lufthansa, the second-largest airline in Europe, operates daily flights between Houston and Frankfurt from IAH. Prior to this increase in gauge the carrier was using an Airbus A340-300 for these flights – the A340-600 will add 98 seats to the service.

That means more passengers, but on this aircraft it also means more business class seats and free high speed wireless internet throughout the cabin, for the nine and a half hour transatlantic flight. Lufthansa’s daily flight service from Houston to Frankfurt is already operating at 80 percent of capacity.

This is the first time the Airbus 340-600 will operate out of Bush. This addition to the Lufthansa fleet highlights the airports capabilities.

With five runways at IAH, the airport already handles a full compliment from the “heavy aircraft group,” including 747’s, the Antonov 124 and 225.

“Right now no airline has indicated they will be using the even larger A380 double- decker aircraft,” said Tom Bartlett, chief operating officer for the Houston Airport System. “Our airport is designed to handle that type of aircraft, we can accommodate it, we’re big enough for that, and our bridges are designed to handle more than one million pounds.”

So move over triple sevens, as the saying goes, “there’s a long, tall drink of water,” in town; the longest passenger plane in the world, landing and leaving daily from the world’s fourth-fastest growing airport in the world.