On the night of Thursday, February 3, with 2,000 guests in attendance, Lufthansa officially presented its new A350 long-haul aircraft in the Lufthansa hangar. With a dazzling light show, the world's most advanced and environmentally friendly jetliner was christened in the name of the city of Nuremberg.
Also addressing the gathering, along with Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, was Dr. Markus Söder, the Bavarian minister of finance and chairman of Munich Airport's supervisory board, Munich Airport CEO Dr. Michael Kerkloh, and Airbus CEO Dr. Thomas Enders. On hand as the "godfather" was Dr. Ulrich Maly, the mayor of Nuremberg.
Spohr told the gathering that the A350 was going to "usher in the era of the two-liter fleet" for Lufthansa, explaining that the new Airbus would average 2.9 liters of fuel per 100 passenger kilometers – 25 percent less than comparable models. Moreover, A350 is just half as loud as similar-sized aircraft.
The choice of Munich – "Europe's best airport" – as the location for stationing the first 10 aircraft in the A350 fleet was quite deliberate, said Spohr. He called it a "reward for our outstanding cooperation".
