Carrier debuts new two-tier boarding/waiting concept

Even though it will be quite a while before Lufthansa starts flying the new Airbus A380 super-jumbos, the airline last week cut the ribbon on a new section of its Frankfurt Airport home base designed to accommodate the big planes. A new pier in the passageway between the airport’s C and D concourses in Terminals 1 and 2 introduces a unique two-level concept in passenger boarding. “Lufthansa can now channel first, business and economy class passengers into separate areas as soon as they access the waiting and boarding zone,” a spokesman said. First and business class passengers will wait to board in an upper-level departure area of “priority gates” that offer easy chairs for comfortable seating, workstations with wireless Internet access, and “spacious bistros serving drinks and light menus,” the spokesperson said. There will also be a Senators Lounge exclusively for first class flyers. Economy class passenger will board from the lower level, which won’t be as luxurious as the upper level – but they’ll still have “ample seating arrangement and snack bars,” the spokesperson said. The new C/D Pier at Frankfurt Airport will be able to accommodate three A380s and one 747 simultaneously.