The A380 "Peking" is the first Lufthansa aircraft to bear the name of non-German capital city

Champagne is opened. Music is in the air. Top executives of Lufthansa arrive in the Beijing Capital International Airport, passengers on the maiden flight of Lufthansa's A380 "Peking."

The German airline started operating A380 flights between Beijing and Lufthansa's main hub of Frankfurt, Germany on September 2. It became the first European airline to use the Airbus A380, the world's largest and most ecologically efficient passenger airliner, on an intercontinental route to China.

To celebrate this historic occasion and renew its commitments to the Chinese market and consumers, the airline named its newest flagship aircraft "Peking." This is the first time one of its aircraft has been named after a non-German capital city.

Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, flew to Beijing for the aircraft's official naming ceremony at the Beijing Capital International Airport. Liu Zhi, Deputy Secretary-General of Beijing Municipal Government, Gao Lijia, BCIA Executive Vice President and Dr. Norbert Riedel, Deputy Head of Mission, with German Embassy Beijing were all present at the ceremony.

"We currently operate 26 successful joint ventures in China, many of them located here in Beijing. By naming this latest addition to the Lufthansa fleet after the Chinese capital, we are honoring the outstanding and long-lasting relationship between our countries and between Lufthansa and China," said Mayrhuber at the press conference.

Passengers flying with the new A380 "Peking" can look forward to an unprecedented flying experience. Lufthansa has introduced a completely new First Class, currently the world's quietest First Class cabin with the most cozy beds. The Lufthansa exclusive air humidification system in First Class, generous storage facilities and upgraded seat design for up to 5 cm of extra legroom in Economy class bring comfort and ease to passengers in all cabin compartments. Cutting-edge innovations in noise control, lighting systems and in-flight entertainment with personal monitor access, also make the trip unique. In addition, to ensure the smooth operation of the aircraft, pilots, engineers and both German and Chinese cabin crews have been extensively trained for the new dimensions in flying.

Lufthansa in China

Lufthansa hopes to ensure quietness and coziness of its A380 cabins for each detail of design

Lufthansa and China have had a very special relationship ever since 1926, when the first pioneering Junkers G24 expedition flights from Germany touched down in Beijing. The Eurasia Aviation Company, an airmail company founded in 1930, was an early German-Chinese joint venture. Since 1980, Lufthansa has scheduled flights between Germany and China; meanwhile the Lufthansa group is involved in five aviation business sectors from passenger airline service to air cargo, maintenance, catering and IT. Lufthansa and the various joint ventures with Chinese partners and corporations provide employment to more than 10,000 Chinese men and women. An example is the large aircraft maintenance and overhaul site of Ameco Beijing, a joint venture of Air China and Lufthansa. Ameco Beijing is not only the first joint venture in the aviation sector in China, but today is the most powerful maintenance, repair and overhaul provider in China. It has a new A380 hangar with a 41,000 sq m maintenance hall that can accommodate six wide-body and four narrow-body aircrafts at the same time, including the A380.

The custom of naming aircraft is a tradition of airlines worldwide. Lufthansa started the tradition of naming its jets after German cities in 1960. The first jet, a Boeing B707, was baptized "Berlin" by the governing mayor of West Berlin at the time, Willy Brandt. The first two Airbus A380s in operation at Lufthansa were given the names of Lufthansa's main hubs "Frankfurt" and "Munich". "Beijing" is the name of the third A380 aircraft and the latest Lufthansa fleet member.