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Lufthansa today announced that, subject to government approval, it would expand its capacity to Israel this spring with the introduction of four weekly flights between Munich and Tel Aviv beginning April 26. The new service complements Lufthansa’s existing double-daily service from Frankfurt to Tel Aviv, and will provide U.S. travelers with more connectivity options through Munich’s airport. From Munich, North American travelers can connect to 107 destinations in 38 countries.
The new Munich–Tel Aviv route will be operated by a 221-seat Airbus A340-300, offering eight First Class, 48 Business Class and 165 Economy Class seats for a total of 884 additional seats per week between Europe and Israel. The flight will depart on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from Munich and will feature Lufthansa’s new in-flight personal entertainment screens in Economy Class, the longest bed in Business Class (six feet, six inches), and a premium First Class service that includes access to Lufthansa’s renowned First Class Lounges.
Travelers departing from Lufthansa’s Charlotte and JFK gateways can take advantage of 1.5-hour connections in Munich to the new Tel Aviv route. Lufthansa currently offers daily nonstop service to Munich in three classes from both airports.
New Flights to Poland
Lufthansa is also extending its route network in Poland by adding Rzeszów to its 2009 summer timetable. As of April 27, Lufthansa’s regional airline subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine will begin operating five flights weekly on the Frankfurt-Rzeszów route with a Bombardier CRJ-700.
Only a few months ago, Lufthansa augmented the existing connection from Munich to Poznan by increasing flights there from Frankfurt as well, giving Lufthansa passengers a choice of more than 200 weekly connections to Germany’s neighboring country.
With
its departure time scheduled to be at around 11:30 am, the flight from
Frankfurt to Rzeszów will connect with Lufthansa flights arriving from
North America.
New Check-In Terminals
On Monday, the German flag carrier began replacing its 300
existing check-in terminals with new upgraded ones. The first terminals
will be installed at Lufthansa’s largest hub in Frankfurt and at Milan Malpensa Airport, where its recently launched airline, Lufthansa Italia, is based. By the end of April, all Lufthansa check-in terminals will be replaced throughout Europe. These new terminals are equipped with an integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner that can read passports and identification cards. The new terminals also have a larger monitor for easier readability.
The
new technology will also enable customers with a machine-readable
passport or ID card to check in quickly and flexibly. Once their
passport data has been scanned, passengers are checked in. In order to
receive a boarding pass, they then have to enter their flight number,
flight destination or booking code. Thanks to the integrated RFID
technology in the card scanner, customers checking in with a Miles & More credit card with a PayPass function only have to hold their card up against the scanner in order to trigger the check-in procedure.
Passengers
who are already checked in but would like to change their seat, for
example, can call up the check-in menu by placing the barcode printed
on their boarding pass against the scanner and then make the necessary
alteration. In addition, the scanner is able to record the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS)
data that is required by many immigration authorities before a flight
departs. Passengers can select this option and then hold their passport
over the scanner.