Lufthansa's Boeing 747s will return to Palma De Mallorca this April to cope with increased demand from holidaymakers. The Boeing 747-400 is scheduled for a return flight to the island on the first four Sundays in April for the third year running!
It is strange to see anything other than a narrowbody on short-haul routes in Europe. There are always exceptions, though, such as British Airways sending widebodies to Frankfurt (typically amid an increase in cargo demand). Passenger demand can also drive schedule boosts, as with Lufthansa's Boeing 747 flights to Mallorca.
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As spotted by Simple Flying's Routes Analyst, James Pearson, Lufthansa is planning four Boeing 747 rotations to Mallorca next month. This is reflected in the Lufthansa booking engine and has been confirmed to Simple Flying by a Lufthansa spokesperson.
Photo: Cirium
The following flights will be handled by the jumbo jet on the 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd of April (all Sundays),
Flight Number
Departure Airport
Departure Time
Arrival Airport
Arrival Time
Duration
LH 1158
Frankfurt (FRA)
12:30
Palma De Mallorca (PMI)
14:35
02h05m
LH 1159
Palma De Mallorca (PMI)
14:05
Frankfurt (FRA)
16:25
02h20m
Explaining the decision, a Lufthansa spokesperson told Simple Flying,
"To meet the high demand for tickets to Mallorca around upcoming Easter time, Lufthansa has decided, like last year, to exchange the usually scheduled Airbus from the A320 family for a larger aircraft on four consecutive Sundays. Thus, also this year the Jumbo (Boeing 747) will visit Mallorca. Thus, we can fly significantly more passengers (+150 passengers per flight) during the holiday season."
You can find tickets for the first flight here!
Lie flat for 2 hours
Lufthansa has been using the four-cabin Boeing 747-8 for its Mallorca flights for the last two years. This year the plan is to swap for the older three-cabin Boeing 747-400. This aircraft has 67 business class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 272 economy seats.
Photo: Lufthansa
As was previously the case, Lufthansa will only sell tickets in the business and economy classes. The premium economy cabin is being sold as a preferred seating section in the economy cabin.
The business class cabin stretches from the nose of the plane to the upper deck. The business cabin is arranged as 2-3-2 seating for most of the main deck, while the upper deck sees a 2-2 layout.
While Lufthansa is due to launch a new business class product on widebody planes later this year, for the time being, passengers have to put up with the current product, which sees many passengers without direct aisle access. Over the coming years, deliveries of the latest generation twinjet widebodies will gradually replace the remaining aging Boeing 747-400 fleet.
What do you make of these limited short-haul Boeing 747-400 flights? Let us know in the comments down below!
Lufthansa IATA/ICAO Code: LH/DLH Airline Type: Full Service Carrier Hub(s): Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport Year Founded: 1953 Alliance: Star Alliance Airline Group: Lufthansa Group CEO: Carsten Spohr Country: Germany