Lufthansa is to add a Frankfurt-Newark service to its Business Jet offering from October 28. The German financial hub will join Dusseldorf in having a direct business-only service to New York (Lufthansa also plies the Dusseldorf - Chicago route with its Business Jet service).
Flight LH484 will depart Frankfurt six-times weekly at 0815, arriving in New York at 1145, with the return leg leaving Newark at 1555, arriving in Frankfurt at 0540 the next day. The route will be served by a 737-300 kitted out with 44 six foot six inch lie-flat (but not fully flat) seats, which Lufthansa says will include individualised amenities, generous-sized seat tables, power sockets for laptops, reading lamps and "high-quality in-flight entertainment systems".
At the same time the carrier has also announced that it is to replace its business class only service between Munich and Newark with a three-class A330 product to accommodate demand in all classes on the route. This is an interesting move, as one of the key differentials for all-business class services is the quick boarding and disembarking times due to smaller passenger numbers, something which would be lost on a larger all-class service.
Lufthansa's expansion of its Business Jet service comes as British all-business class carrier Silverjet announced increased load figures of 70 per cent in June, carrying a total of 3,564 passengers over the month. Meanwhile rival Eos says it is now the fourth largest carrier between London and New York in terms of frequency. The carrier says it has surpassed both Continental and Delta on the route, and will continue gaining on third-placed Virgin from this September, when it increases its schedules to 40 flights per week.
Visit lufthansa.com, silverjet.com, eosairlines.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
