Lufthansa's superjumbo A-380 to fly to Delhi

After Singapore Airlines and Emirates, Lufthansa on Wednesday announced the launch of flights of the superjumbo Airbus A-380 to India from New Delhi later this month.

The German carrier's A-380 services would begin from October 27 between Frankfurt and Delhi, with the aircraft being configured to carry 520 passengers in three classes -- eight in First Class, 92 in Business Class and 420 in Economy.

Currently, Singapore Airlines and Emirates operate A-380 in India from Mumbai and Delhi airports. Singapore Airlines introduced superjumbo flights in May this year while Emirates began its first A-380 service in July.

"The A-380 is the world's largest commercial passenger jet and offers the finest in terms of flying comfort, luxury and efficiency. With the new A-380, Lufthansa customers will be able to experience Lufthansa's latest in-flight products and services including the state-of-the art First Class," the airline's Director South Asia Wolfgang Will said.

The Lufthansa superjumbo would depart from Delhi at 0330 hours to reach Frankfurt at 0720 hours. On its return leg, it would start from Frankfurt at 1340 hours and arrive Delhi at 0130 hours on the next day.

The largest and the heaviest passenger aircraft A-380 is 73 metres long and has a take-off weight of 560 tons. It is powered by four Rolls-Royce engines, but is known to be a "quite" plane, using less fuel.

Will said the passengers would have access to the latest in-flight products like the luxurious comfort in First Class, a sophisticated new business class with full flat-beds and a "comfort-enhanced" Economy Class with more legroom and wider seats.

Both Emirates and Singapore Airlines officials have said the passenger load factors on their A-380s on the India route have been satisfactory and there has been more demand for business class travel.

The government had in January decided to allow the operations of the A-380s. At present, only four airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore - have the infrastructure needed to handle the flights of the gigantic aircraft.