As already reported and communicated by Lufthansa at the end of March, on June 10, 2011 – the first Airbus A380 LH462 should land in Miami and I wanted to be part of this first flight and just write my impressions during the flight.  

The conditions couldn’t have been better: frequent flyer with Lufthansa, final destination Miami (one of my favorite places anyway), fantastic weather in June, cheap room rates before the summer vacations and a major sports event back in Miami.

Lufthansa Airbus A380 LH462 inaugural flight

After the Superbowl Final 2010 in Mami’s Sunrise Stadium with the victory of the New Orleans Saints, I wanted to be there when history is made again and the Dallas Mavericks win their first title – and our German basketball hero – Dirk Nowitzki – still crowns his extraordinary sports career.

Flight tickets for the A380 flight from Düsseldorf via Frankfurt to Miami were quickly provided to me by the German Lufthansa, only the time for the flight from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt was probably not only for me a bit very early.

Flight report LH462 inaugural flight

A departure time of 06:05 should be forbidden, especially in consideration for people like me, who are often in bed only at 02:00. As you can see on the picture above, the Lufthansa employees were also not at their seats, so there were still a few minutes of pre-sleeping in the first class check-in in Düsseldorf at the airport.

After a short mini-flight of just under 40 minutes, we made our way through Frankfurt Airport to Departure Area C – the new premium departure of the German Lufthansa and the location of the new A380 fleet.

LH462 – Frankfurt to Miami

In addition to the flight to Miami from gate C16, the flight to San Francisco from C14 was also present.Fortunately, the Senator Lounge in the C area is not as crowded as the lounges in gate areas A and B (but according to Lufthansa, especially in the B area, the new lounge should be ready soon and will offer significantly more seats than before).

The sight of the new “superjumbos” is already very impressive, even for people like me who also regularly fly long-haul between Germany, the USA and Asia.  

The boarding of the first and business class was carried out directly from the lounge at gate C16, where a small speech took place beforehand and the press (both from Germany and the USA) had the opportunity to ask more questions, take pictures, before it went together to the plane.

As a souvenir from Frankfurt, Lufthansa then gave us a “beautiful” wine jug made of stoneware and direct access to the upper floor of the A380 of the German Lufthansa.

Lufthansa Airbus A380 LH462 seats

In addition to the new and modern first class for eight passengers, there are another 98 business class seats on the upper deck. As is well known, comfort is a matter of debate, and the new seats are not to be installed until the new Lufthansa Boeing 747-8, so that one could continue to make do with the “slide” seats with a 170-degree inclination.

With the new first class, Lufthansa has certainly transferred a good bit to modernity, replacing the previous WCs with ultra-modern and spacious bathrooms.

Lufthansa LH462 – inaugural flight takeoff

With the barely noticeable push back from the gate and taxi to the runway, the A380 heading to San Francisco could still be observed from the side window from takeoff – an impressive sight. The previous experiences of other fliers in points calm during takeoff I can only confirm, if you consider that 560 tons are in motion.

The quiet roll on the seemingly endless runway was impressive and so the A380 of Lufthansa LH462 then took off gently into the Frankfurt morning – the flight time was calculated with 9 hours and 40 minutes.  

Lufthansa LH462 – Business Class Menu

After a personal welcome by the purser of flight LH462, the meal selection was served as a menu. This time also in this class some culinary highlights.

As an appetizer stood to the selection: – Salmon pickled in coffee with oriental potato salad and mint oil – Marinated beef strips “Pimento” with almonds – Colorful leaf salads with cucumber, tomato, etc., which, however, were cancelled at short notice due to the EHEC cases.

As main courses there was a choice of: – King prawns on spicy vegetable rice – Lamb stew braised in saffron and ginger – Lufthansa Classics: cheese spaetzle with melted onions.

Cheese and dessert: – Halloumi, labneh and suma cheese with sun-dried tomato and roasted pine nuts – Juice fig date cake, fruit salad, curd cream and marinated strawberries.

During the flight, there were the usual duty-free shopping options, as well as various multimedia offerings. The nice thing about the new media system is the faster screen response, as well as the various on-board cameras during the flight.  

First landing in Miami – Lufthansa Airbus A380 LH462

Shortly before the landing, the cockpit informed us that there would be a “small” reception and that there would probably be some onlookers to enjoy the first landing of the Lufthansa A380 LH462 in Miami in person.

The expectations were more than exceeded, both for the crew and for us as passengers. The runway was almost completely lined with onlookers, and traffic on the parallel Dolphin Expressway came to a standstill at times.  

Taxiing to the gate became a showcase for the A380 of Lufthansa LH462 – every available employee of the airport, who did not necessarily have to pursue a job, seemed to be waiting for the docking at the gate and stood in the near vicinity – increased only by the water fountains of the fire trucks of the MIA airport.

The A380 and the passengers of LH462 were also already awaited at the Miami airport, and in addition to various attentions from the Miami and South Florida Tourism Authority, as well as mementos from Lufthansa, there was a grand reception for the crew and representatives of Lufthansa and MIA airport at the end.  

Miami-Dade Aviation Director Jose Abreu once again emphasized the importance for Miami Airport and that with the landing of the Lufthansa LH 462 A380 Miami would now be a piece of the elite airports in the world that are allowed to handle the A380 and thus another milestone was written in the history of Miami Airport.

For me personally, flying LH462 certainly means a very nice new experience and a very pleasant quiet way to fly. I am sure that this was certainly not the last flight with a German Lufthansa A380 and now I am wondering which destination I will use next? Maybe the inaugural flight to Singapore in October?

A very nice video report about the expectations of the South Florida region and the flight experience from the A380 on the Frankfurt – Miami route can be found at Channel 10 News, who were also on board.