Alex McWhirter looks at options for flights between London and Beijing.
Frankfurt to Beijing
With its daily A380 service linking Frankfurt to Beijing, Lufthansa is waving the flag for European aviation in the face of fierce international competition. Although the German airline initially launched a once-weekly A380 flight to Beijing last September, its daily service became a reality in April. It means Lufthansa joins Emirates of Dubai in becoming the second carrier to operate daily superjumbo flights into the capital of mainland China.
Beijing will be an important route for Lufthansa. According to news publication Der Spiegel, the airline generates between 20 and 25 per cent of its passengers from the Asia-Pacific region, with China accounting for almost a third of these.
This important market has prompted Lufthansa to name its third A380 “Peking” (the German-language word for Beijing). Der Spiegel described this as “a surprise” seeing as it was only the second time in the airline’s history that a plane had been named after a foreign city.
Flights are timed for connection opportunities from many of its main and secondary destinations throughout the UK and mainland Europe. In addition, use of the popular A380, with its spacious and quiet cabins, makes a routing via Europe appealing for long-distance Beijing passengers destined for, or originating from, Latin America and Africa, some of whom may have defected to the Gulf hubs in recent times (see New world order).
What Lufthansa offers
The carrier’s flagship A380 accommodates 526 passengers in a three-class first, business and economy layout. The two premium classes occupy the entire upper deck, with economy class located along the whole of the lower deck.
There are eight passengers in first class disposed 1-2-1 with fully-flat beds. Behind comes a large 98-seater business class cabin configured 2-2-2. Lufthansa has installed angled lie-flat seating in the business zone and those seats will remain for the time being. (Business Traveller understands that eventually the plan is to fit fully-flat beds on the A380, but this is some time away. The flat-bed seating will initially appear in the carrier’s new B747-800s, which will be delivered around the end of the year. It is unclear if or when the B747-800s will enter the Beijing route.) The mammoth lower deck is given over to 420 economy seats configured 3-4-3.
Flight LH720 departs Frankfurt at 1720 to arrive into Beijing the following morning at 0830 after a flight time of nine hours ten minutes. Coming back, flight LH721 leaves Beijing at 1030 and lands in Frankfurt the same day at 1440. Flight length is ten hours, ten minutes.
UK passengers can make connections out of London Heathrow, Birmingham and Manchester. Connections from London City or Edinburgh are not good on the way out but are convenient on the return.
Out of Heathrow, take LH905 (1145-1415), returning with LH914 (1620-1655) or, better still, into London City (LCY) with LH934 (1555-1620).
From Birmingham, Lufthansa suggests LH953 (0950-1225), returning with LH956 (1730-1800).From Manchester, take LH943 (1310-1550), using LH946 (1655-1735) on the return.
Premium passengers and higher-tier frequent flyer programme members have a choice of separate first and business lounges in the transit zone, but only first class passengers have access to the airside and First Class Terminal (FCT), which is located very close to Frankfurt’s Terminal 1. Because it is airside, you really need to have a minimum of two or three hours in transit to use it, as you must allow time to proceed through T1, clear passport control and walk the short distance to the FCT.
But the FCT is special. No other European, or indeed world, hub offers anything similar. It has its own passport control and security clearance for departing passengers, and there is also à la carte dining, business facilities and showers. Perhaps the highlight is the limousine transfer direct from the FCT to your aircraft on the tarmac.
Fares
Out of London Heathrow via Frankfurt to Beijing on the A380 in mid-July, lufthansa.com quotes return fares starting at £816 for “Economy Basic”, £1,761 for “Business Basic Plus” (where changes or cancellation are allowed for a fee), £3,782 for “Business Flexible” and £4,924 for “First Basic Plus”. Lufthansa has tiered pricing, with some fare types fluctuating according to demand and degree of flexibility required.
Alternatives
Lufthansa also operates daily from Munich with A340-600 aircraft. Other European carriers include Air France (11 weekly flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle with B777s), Austrian Airlines (daily from Vienna with B767s), British Airways (daily from Heathrow with B747s), Finnair (daily from Helsinki with A330s), KLM (daily from Amsterdam with B747s) and SAS (daily from Copenhagen with A340-300s). Fully-flat seats in business class are available with BA and Finnair.
Visit airfrance.co.uk, austrian.com, ba.com, finnair.com, flysas.com, klm.com for more information.
