Frankfurt airport’s (FRA) new €700 million Pier A-Plus has opened on schedule, including five new Lufthansa lounges and increased wide-body docking capabilities, allowing an additional capacity of up to six million passengers a year.
Flights will begin using the new pier from October 10 and is for the exclusive use of Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners. Pier A-Plus provides more docking positions for wide-body aircraft like the A380 superjumbo and the B747.
Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz said: “I am convinced that Pier A-Plus will be well appreciated by our guests. Five new lounges and the latest technology set new standards.”
Pier A-Plus has 185,000 sqm of useable floor space and provides seven docking positions for long-haul aircraft, four of which are designed for double-decker jets like the A380 and have three passenger bridges.
The new pier also changes the transfer processes, as all incoming flights from the US will be handled at Area A of Terminal 1. The minimum connection time for many transfer flights on these routes will be reduced from 60 minutes to 45 minutes.
Pier A-Plus has five new Lufthansa lounges – one first class, two Senator (above) and two business class. These facilities expand Lufthansa’s total lounge space at FRA by almost 50 per cent to more than 14,000 square metres.
All lounges that were located near Gate A26 will subsequently be closed, including the Senator and business lounge in the Schengen area, as well as the Tower lounge in the non-Schengen area. The old first class lounge will be redeveloped as a Senator lounge by the second quarter of 2013.
For more information visit lufthansa.com.
Report by Scott Carey
