As a part of its growing offerings to woo business passengers, SpiceJet announced the launch of a breakfast menu available for sale on all flights that depart before 9.30 am. The single type continental breakfast tray is available at a discounted price of Rs 100 ($2) if it is pre-ordered at the time of booking the ticket. The same is available on board for Rs 130. The extra Rs. 30 on-board is charged to cover for wastage.

The hygienically packed breakfast trays comprise a croissant, a portion of seasonal fruits, fruit yoghurt, fruit juice, butter and jam. Guests can finish their healthy breakfast with hot tea or coffee, served with cookies, for an additional Rs. 20.

Other items that are also available for sale on board are carbonated soft drinks (sodas), Orange Juice, and pre packaged cashew nuts all for Rs. 50 ($1) each.

SpiceJet has recently introduced a “sandwich of the day” where one type of sandwich is chosen from a selection of three to offer frequent travellers variety and range.

Some Friday trivia for you to ponder.

Can you name the world's longest non-stop flight by a commercial airliner ? Longest in terms of distance and in terms of time ? Send in your answer via a comment.

And while you are pondering the answer, enjoy this rather unusual angle on a Jet Airways Boeing 737-800 Next Generation series VT-JGV.

From March 29, 2009, the start of the summer time table, Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines will deepen their cooperation and expand their existing partnership, ahead of Lufthansa's plans to take a 45 per cent stake in Brussels Airlines (subsequently to be raised to 100 per cent), and Brussels Airlines' entry in to the Star Alliance.

Codeshare flights on cross-border routes
From the end of this week, numerous Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines flights will be operated on a codeshare basis under the partner airline’s flight number. In future, Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines passengers will have access to both airlines’ route networks. Initially, this service will apply to flights between Brussels and Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Nuremberg and Stuttgart as well as to selected European destinations. At a later date, it will be extended to other flights, particularly to and from Munich.

Frequent flyer programme partnership
The two carriers are launching a frequent flyer programme partnership. Brussels Airlines Privilege members will then be able to earn award and status miles on all flights operated by Lufthansa and also redeem any miles accumulated prior to that date for award tickets on Lufthansa flights. Conversely, Lufthansa Miles & More members will have their account credited with all the premium, status and HON Circle miles earned on flights operated by Brussels Airlines and will also be able to book award flights with Brussels Airlines.

In addition, elite status customers of both carriers will enjoy additional privileges such as more generous free baggage allowances and preferential baggage claim. Lufthansa status customers flying with Brussels Airlines will also be able to use Brussels Airlines’ Business Class check-in counters. Likewise, Brussels Airlines’ Platinum and Gold passengers will have access to Lufthansa’s First or Business Class check-in counters.

Reciprocal lounge privileges
Since mid-February, both airlines have granted their premium customers reciprocal use of the partner’s lounges. Members of Brussels Airlines’ frequent flyer programme Privilege who have attained Platinum status can thus use all Lufthansa Senator and Business Lounges worldwide. Likewise, since February, Lufthansa HON Circle members, Senators and First Class passengers have enjoyed access to Brussels Airlines lounges. In addition, from 29 March, Business Class passengers flying Brussels Airlines will be able to use all Lufthansa’s Business lounges, while Lufthansa customers will have access to Brussels Airlines’ Business Lounge at Brussels.

Joint ground operations under one roof
Whenever possible, Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines aim to locate their service desks and check-in areas close to one another at airports. At the start of the summer timetable, Brussels Airlines will therefore move into Terminal 2 at Hamburg Airport, where Lufthansa and other Star Alliance partners are located. At a later date, in line with the Star Alliance’s “Under One Roof” strategy, Brussels Airlines plans to relocate to Terminal 2 at Munich, which is used exclusively by Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners.

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For quite some time the rumour mill had it that the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) was going to scrap the $550 million tender for 22 attack helicopters. Earlier today this rumour was confirmed.

According to a spokesman the tender had to be cancelled since 'the remaining three companies still participating in the tender were unable to meet the requirements of the tender'.

"The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 22 attack helicopters have been retracted and cancelled, as the three offers received from foreign defence companies did not meet the Staff Qualitative Requirements set by the government,”

The spokesman also clarified that other tenders such as the $1.5 billion tender for 384 light utility helicopters are not affected by this cancellation.

The cancellation is widely seen as being of direct benefit to Boeing and its AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter with the new tender being seen as giving Boeing a second chance to participate.

India began a competition in May 2008, to procure 22 attack helicopters for its air force as a replacement for the ageing Mil Mi-25 and Mi-35 fleets.

Boeing image. Copyright Boeing Company

India requested a 2.5 tonne twin-engined copter with all-weather, day and night operations, and all-terrain ability. The helicopter is be highly manoeuvrable, able to deploy 20mm turret guns, rockets, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, able to employ air-to-ground, fire-and-forget mode missiles with a range of at least seven kilometres (4.375 miles), equipped with anti-armour capabilities and be capable of operating at high altitudes such as in the mountainous borders India shares with Pakistan, Afghanistan and China in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. Specifications suiting the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow to a tee.

With a budget unit price of $25 million, the contract called for the first two helicopters to be delivered within two years of contract signing with completion of the contract within three years.

Initially seven companies participated the tender:

1. Agusta Westland AW129,
2. Bell AH-1Z SuperCobra,
3. Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow,
4. Eurocopter Tiger HAD,
5. Kamov Ka-50,
6. Mil Mi-28 NE
7. Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Light Combat Helicopter.

By the final leg only Agusta-Westland, Eurocopter and Mil were left in the fray, Bell and Boeing quit the race, Kamov and HAL did not qualify.

Since Bell, ceased production of the AH-1Z Cobra it withdrew. Boeing had requested a two month extension last August to submit a proposal that met all the requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF) which was denied, upon which Boeing refused to submit a proposal.

The MoD spokesman said that a new tender will be announced soon since the air force aims to modernising the service by the middle of the next decade, but this tender cancellation will definitely delay the 2010 target date of the IAF to begin with the deployment of the new attack helicopters.

Observers and analysts of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are completely baffled. No one has been able to arrive at a conclusive logical explanation for the MoD actions.

By maintaining that the three remaining helicopters do not meet their qualitative requirements the MoD effectively implies that their requirements were (a) unrealistic, or more likely (b) tailored for a specific model that did not made it to the short list.

Clues to the second option being the real reason come from the fact that there is only one in-service helicopter-launched fire-and-forget mode missile WITH a 7 kilometre range in the world today -- the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire; which is equipped on the Boeing AH-64D Longbow Apache.

One can safely surmise that the Indian Air Force brass was not happy that the Apache Longbow was no longer in the competition. This move to cancel the ongoing tender and start afresh is clearly intended to give Boeing a second chance. The outcome of the new “tender” appears to be already clear.

Not that I am complaining. Reading about the experiences of the Apache Longbows in Iraq, I have always felt that a squadron of these supremely deadly helicopters, with their armour, chain-gun and night-vision capabilities, would be more than enough to solve the problem of terrorists sneaking over the border from Pakistan to India.

An Indian Navy Kamov Ka-28 "Helix-A" helicopter crashed in the Arabian Sea, 22 nautical miles off the coast Goa, earlier day, but the three crew escaped unhurt.

The Ka-28 is the export version of the Ka-27Pl

Image courtesy Wikipedia

The helicopter had taken off from the Indian Navy base at Goa INS Hansa at 11:00 (05:30 UTC) on a routine sortie. Air Traffic Control officials at the Dabolim International Airport, Goa, indicated that the helicopter lost contact with them 20 minutes later.

A few minutes later, when a distress signal was received a Navy rescue helicopter was scrambled, which rescued the crew members.

The debris of the Kamov has been located and a court of inquiry has been initiated as per an Indian Navy spokesperson.

Effective March 29th, Gulf Air is withdrawing its flights from Bahrain to Bangalore and to Hyderabad. No explanation has been provided by the airline, but I suspect that they have been crowded out by the far more aggressive Emirates Airlines.

Gulf Air flies a small Airbus A320 to Bangalore daily and a slightly larger A321 to Hyderabad four times a week, while Emirates flies three Boeing 777s/A330s daily to both cities.

Having overtaken European and ASEAN carriers, this is the first case of a fellow middle east airline feeling the pressure of the relentless expansion by Emirates across the Indian skies.

On the same date, March 29th Jet Airways will launch its Mumbai Kuwait service which complements their existing Kochi (Cochin) Kuwait service.

Mumbai-Kuwait: 9W 572 Dep 1900 hrs. Arr 2030 hrs.
Kuwait-Mumbai: 9W 571 Dep 2130 hrs. Arr 0400 hrs.

Obviously there is more traffic between Kochi and Kuwait, since even the Mumbai Kuwait service will offer convenient connections to the Mumbai Kochi services of Jet.

Kingfisher Airlines recently released its Summer schedule which comes in to effect from March 29th.

Some of the highlights :

• Introduction of double daily flights between Mumbai and Vadodara.
• Introduction of direct daily flight between Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.
• Introduction of direct daily flight service between Aurangabad and Hyderabad to ensure Aurangabad is connected to Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore via Hyderabad.
• Introduction of direct daily flights between Mumbai and Patna with onward connection to Ranchi from April 6th.
• Mumbai Bhuj service will be operated by Kingfisher Red (the former Air Deccan)
• Excellent connection from Goa to Chennai via Mumbai.
• Reinstatment of late night departure from Mumbai to Delhi at 22:10 (10:10 PM).

The New Tokyo International Airport at Narita opened its main runway earlier this morning at 09:10 local (00:10 UTC) following yesterday's accident and crash of a FedEx Boeing MD-11 freighter which claimed both the crew and the aircraft.

The crash has shut down the 4,000 meter (13,123 ft) long main runway 16R/34L. The airport was forced to rely on the secondary Runway 16L/34R which, at 2,180 meters (7,152 ft) is just about half the the length of the main runway.

A spokesman for the airport said the first arrival was a Lufthansa intercontinental passenger flight from Frankurt at 09:24 (00:24 UTC)

The spokesman confirmed that the wreckage of the MD-11F was removed in the wee hours of this morning. He added that 101 flights were cancelled and about 50 were diverted to other Japanese airports since the crash.

Use these links for real-time information from Narita airport on international flight arrivals and international flight departures. Here is a list of all the airlines operating at Narita airport.

In the meantime FedEx released the names of the two crew who perished in the accident.

Captain Kevin Kyle Mosley, 54, of Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, joined FedEx Express on May 1, 1996. He has 12,800 flying hours experience.

First Officer Anthony Stephen Pino, 49, of San Antonio, Texas, USA, joined FedEx Express on July 10, 2006. He has 6,300 flying hours experience.

Our prayers with the bereaved families and prayers for the departed.

Blue Skies and Tail winds!!!!

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On March 12th, I had written about the "urgent" safety recommendations by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding the Rolls Royce Trent 800 RB211 engines which are used by many Boeing 777 operators. It is estimated that there are currently about 220 Boeing 777s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines in operation with 11 airlines around the world.

The list includes Air New Zealand, British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Delta Airlines, El Al, Emirates, Kenya Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Thai Airways.

Image courtesy Singapore Airlines

I was concerned about the impact on my favourite, Singapore Airlines (SIA), who with 77 aircraft, happens to be the world largest operator of Boeing 777s. The 777 makes up more than 75 per cent of Singapore Airlines' fleet (77 777s out of a fleet of 101 aircraft), and this will only grow as more join their fleet, and the 14 venerable Megatop Boeing 747-400s are retired from service by next year.

SIA has 58 Boeing 777s, that are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. These are the 31 Boeing 777-200 (Trent 884), 15 777-200ER (Extended Range), and 12 777-300 (both Trent 892) models. 19 are 777-300ER (also called 77W) powered by General Electric GE90-115B engines, and which are used primarily in long haul flights.

I wrote to Stephen Forshaw the spokesperson for Singapore Airlines with my concerns. He has assured me and all passengers of Singapore Airlines of the airline's confidence in the Rolls Royce Trent 800 engines powering their fleet, and the short-term fix addressed by the NTSB, with training and procedures mandated the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) minimise the risk while engine manufacturer Rolls Royce rolls out the re-designed Fuel Oil Heat Exchanger (FOHE) as a longer term and more permanent solution.

He also clarified in depth about the routes that Singapore Airlines flies which are more tropical in nature when compared to the extended polar routes flown by some other airlines.

I posed to him that even Singapore Airlines flights flies polar routes. and "with the -40 Deg and colder temperatures experienced at high altitude the route really does not have an impact on the potential for icing. i.e. whether it is a polar or tropical route."?

Stephen Forshaw explains

You are correct that temperatures can reach -40 or lower at cruise altitude, whether in the tropics or the polar region. That is not really the concern. As you would be aware, jet fuel has a very low freezing point - the variety used for commercial aircraft is Jet A1 and has a freezing point of -47 degrees Celsius. Sometimes, the temperature outside the aircraft will reach below that point, but the fuel tank ambient temperature is always higher than the outside temperature, and this prevents fuel from freezing.

Where icing potentially occurs is where the fuel has prolonged exposure to temperatures outside the aircraft at the more extreme end. [In] the BA [British Airways] case, outside temperatures for much of the polar journey reportedly reached as low as -70 degrees. The concern is the prolonged exposure to excessively low temperatures.

What is meant by my comment on the tropical nature of our operations is that, while the aircraft is on the ground, the ambient temperature very quickly warms up to a point well above zero degrees and will quickly melt any ice particles that may form. The difficulty in the BA case was that the ground temperature in Beijing was still well below zero for the entire time the aircraft was in transit. With a small number of exceptions, our RR [Rolls Royce] powered 777s tend not to operate to points where they are likely to face prolonged exposure to extreme cold conditions, both in cruise and on ground.

It would seem, from the available reports, that there were a set of circumstances that contributed to this accident; not merely that the temperature was low. Low temperatures are nothing new for jet fuel systems; it is the prolonged exposure and lack of understanding at that time of the remedial actions that we know are now necessary that are learning points. These points have all been incorporated into our procedures and pilot training, and our pilots are well aware of the issues.

In response to my query "has any SQ B777 flight experienced an in-flight un-commanded engine roll back ?" He said

We have not experienced any similar incident, and this is possibly because, as I said, our RR-powered 777s tend not to be operating in the prolonged extreme cold conditions that the BA flight experienced. Those of our aircraft operations with prolonged exposure to polar routes are only using the B777-300ER (GE-powered) and A340-500 (RR powered but with a different fuel flow system).

To clarify, the A340-500 series used on the non-stop Singapore Los Angeles and Singapore New York service are powered by the Rolls Royce Trent 553 engines. Having flown these flights right from their inaugural, I can attest to their reliability.


In response to my queries "on the "mood" of the airline about the Boeing 777 powered by the Rolls Royce Trent 800 RB211 engines, the fix that is being planned, and whether the recent developments will have any impact on SQs decisions on the engines for future B777 purchases ?" Stephen replied

The 777 will remain an integral part of our fleet operations for many years to come. It is an exceptionally good aircraft with a high level of reliability and customer appeal. We don't see that changing as a result of this finding, because (a) the fix developed has already been rolled out through training and procedures, and (b) RR is engaged on a longer-term redesign. I want to be clear on your question about 18 months as a time to fly with these "risks"- if there were no other mitigation measures, that would be a concern, but the procedures jointly developed and approved by the FAA and EASA provide a solution in the meantime to minimise the risk while the longer-term R&D work is done by RR.

Stephen Forshaw also confirmed that the recent developments will have no impact on the plans of Singapore Airlines to phase-out of the Boeing 744-400s by early next year.

This issue will not affect our plans to retire the B744s from service - that is a wholly different question and contingent on deliveries of newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft such as the A380 and B777-300ER.

It is clear that while the short-term training and procedural fix recommended by the NTSB, FAA and EASA is acceptable for now, it is surely not acceptable for the long term. By then Rolls Royce will have implemented the re-designed FOHE.

Would I fly aboard a Rolls Royce Trent 800 powered Boeing 777 of Singapore Airlines -- ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!

On a side note, with the phase-out of the B744s, Singapore Airlines' long association with US engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney will come to an end, as their entire fleet from the mighty Airbus A380 to the Boeing 777s to the Airbus A330 will be powered by Rolls Royce and General Electric engines. At one point about 10 years ago, Singapore Airlines was PWs largest customer in Asia. Singapore Airlines Cargo though, will continue using the PW4056 powered B744s.

and finally .... Stephen Forshaw is leaving Singapore Airlines for other career prospects. I wish him all success. His successor Nicholas Ionides who takes over as Vice President Public Affairs, with effect from 4 May 2009 is well known in the blogosphere. Mr Ionides, 37, is currently the Singapore-based Managing Editor (Asia) at Reed Business Information, publishers of Flight International and Airline Business Magazines and the Air Transport Intelligence and Flightglobal news websites

Virgin Blue’s international airline V Australia and Delta Air Lines have negotiated and signed an Australia-U.S. interline agreement on the networks of each carrier and across the trans-Pacific route.

An interline agreement allows the partner airlines to carry passengers or freight on behalf of each other and also enables luggage to be checked through.

Effective immediately, the agreement allows travellers to purchase a single ticket from their Travel Agent, V Australia or Delta for travel between the U.S. and Australia on either carrier.

The agreement leverage's each airlines' domestic connectivity strength. Virgin Blue has domestic connectivity to all major cities in Australia while Delta has extensive domestic services to virtually every city in the United States. This agreement competes head-on with the One World Qantas American Airlines pairing.

V Australia commenced flights between Los Angeles and Sydney on February 27, 2009, and is planning direct flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane on April 8, 2009 and to Melbourne in September 2009.

Delta is expected to commence daily non-stop services on the Sydney - Los Angeles route from July 1, 2009.

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First posted - March 23, 01:00 GMT

A FedEx MD-11 freighter registration number N526FE performing flight 80, from Guangzhou, China crashed at Tokyo Narita International Airport in heavy winds, and burst in to flames. The two crew on board were killed. The main runway at the international gateway airport to Tokyo has been shut down.

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Most airlines have been forced to divert incoming flights to Tokyo Haneda, Osaka, Nagoya and other airports, as the longest runway of two at Narita has been closed.

The FedEx plane landed hard, tipped onto its left wing and burst into a bright orange fireball of flames, the video of the crash from Tokyo Broadcasting System shows. I have upload the video since the TBS website does not allow resizing of the small video window. The copyright remains that of TBS.

The three engined MD-11F an improvement of the old DC10 made by McDonnell Douglas, now a part of Boeing, is the mainstay of FedEx's freighter fleet who has 58 aircraft in its fleet.


This crash is reminiscent of the July 31, 1997 crash of another FedEx MD-11F at Newark. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) faulted the pilots for the crash of FedEx Flight 14, from Anchorage, Alaska to Newark.

Airport officials are unclear how long the main runway would be closed at Narita. International Japanese carriers Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have cancelled 29 and 10 flights respectively.

Having flown frequently to Narita I can attest to the tough time pilots have in the frequently occurring crosswinds. Both runways are aligned in a roughly North South direction (156/336 degree headings on the compass), and the airport often has strong crosswinds in an easterly and westerly direction. Paucity of land prevents the authorities from building a crossing runway at the airport.

METARS (21:48 UTC):
2009/03/22 21:00 RJAA 222100Z 30013G28KT 260V330 9999 FEW020 13/M01 Q0998 NOSIG RMK 1CU020 A2948
2009/03/22 21:00 RJAA 222100Z 30013G28KT 260V330 9999 FEW020 13/M01 Q0998 NOSIG
2009/03/22 21:08 RJAA 222108Z 31025G35KT 9999 FEW020 12/M01 Q0998 RMK 1CU020 A2949
2009/03/22 21:30 RJAA 222130Z 32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG
2009/03/22 21:30 RJAA 222130Z 32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG RMK 1CU020 A2952 P/RR
2009/03/22 21:30 RJAA 222130Z 32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG

Japan's meteorological agency had issued an advisory of gales for the area around the airport.

Update 1 - 04:30 GMT

FedEx has put out a statement

A FedEx Express MD-11 was involved in an incident today en route from Guangzhou to Narita, with two crew members on board. The incident occurred upon landing. We are sad to report that there were no survivors.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of these crew members. This loss pains all of us at FedEx. Right now our focus is on doing everything we can to assist those involved at this difficult time.

We are thankful for the quick response of emergency teams on the ground and will continue to work closely with the applicable authorities as we seek to determine the cause for this tragic incident.

Update 2 - 06:00 GMT

Widespread flight disruptions are being reported at Narita airport. Read the full article.

The crash of FedEx MD-11 freighter registration number N526FE performing flight 80, from Guangzhou, China at the New Tokyo International Airport at Narita has caused major disruptions in flight schedules.

The crash has shut down the 4,000 meter (13,123 ft) long main runway 16R/34L.

Map should not be used for navigation

The airport is forced to rely on the secondary Runway 16L/34R which, at 2,180 meters (7,152 ft) is just about half the the length of the main runway.

Narita is the main gateway to Japan's capital Tokyo, and home to all of Tokyo's intercontinental flights, many of which are operated by the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. Unfortunately Boeing B747 and Airbus A380 operations are not permitted on the secondary runway. Even wide bodies like the Boeing 777, 767, MD-11, Airbus A340 and A330, will not be able to carry a full complement of passengers, baggage and fuel.


Air travel to and from Tokyo is going to be hard today.

Please use these links for real-time information from Narita airport on international flight arrivals and international flight departures.

Do contact your airline and determine what is their situation, what arrangements are being made or alternatives they suggest. Here is a list of all the airlines operating at Narita airport.

See two videos of the crash.

Originally posted - 16:00GMT 21:30 local March 18

Something is in the air at the Bengaluru International Airport. For the second time in less than a week, an Airbus A330 is getting grounded at the airport with a technical fault.

Following the five day grounding of a Dragonair A330, it is the turn of Air France. F-GZCB which was to perform flight AF191 early this morning, has been grounded with a technical flaw in the avionics bay.

An Air France engineer is flying out with the required spares on tonight's AF192 flight, and is expected to fix the aircraft which should fly out some time tomorrow afternoon.

All the passengers on the stranded flight were put on alternate airlines or accommodated in hotels.

Update 1 - 13:00GMT 18:30 local March 19

After many efforts by the engineers at Bangalore very futile, a team of senior engineers flew in from Dubai late this afternoon on the Emirates flight and have commenced inspection of the aircraft. Parts are expected in from Paris on AF192 which should come in around 01:00 local. Hopefully F-GZCB will be repaired by tomorrow morning and leave back to her home in Paris.

Update 2 - 06:00GMT 11:30 local March 22

Poor F-GZCB is still sitting on the ground. Very forlorn. The major electrical problem has been addressed. The parking bill from the Airport is going to be big.

Update 3 - 18:00GMT 23:30 local March 22

F-GZCB finally flew out as a ferry flight at 19:00 local time (14:00 GMT). Even the departure was not without drama as the aircraft was originally scheduled to leave at 15:45 local to avoid the night curfew plaguing most European airports including Charles De Gaulle. At the last moment a hydraulics problem cropped up. Luckily there were three engineers from Air France at the site, and the issue was addressed and corrected in a record two hours.

Still special permission was needed for the European curfew, and having obtained it, the A330 finally left Bangalore almost five days after being on the ground.

Since F-GZCB was in "AOG" status (Aircraft On Ground) for such a long period, she will undergo a thorough check today before being pressed back in to service.

Lufthansa is opening its Tower Lounge for First and Business Class passengers as well as customers with Hon Circle, Senator or frequent traveller status, at the Frankfurt airport by this month end.

Located in the departures area above gate A65, the Tower Lounge offers the customary amenities in a floor area of 1,100 sq. meters (about 12,000 sq. ft.), big enough for up to 288 guests. The bistro area serves a buffet of drinks and a variety of savoury snacks, a soup of the day and a choice of warm or cold sandwiches. Office facilities include separate workstations equipped with complimentary Internet PCs, W-Fi/WLAN access, a fax and copier, credit card payphones and power points to re-charge mobile phones. The lounge also provides five modern showers.

The best part of the lounge for airplane buffs like me; sink into deep leather armchairs and view the apron traffic through the spacious panoramic windows allowing a spectacular view of the tarmac.

The new Lufthansa Tower Lounge replaces the existing Lufthansa Senator and Business Lounge at gate A51.