
Lufthansa flies three aircraft with staircases onboard. Can you name them? Answer at end of this post!
(Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Last week I took on an unusual assignment: Lufthansa asked me to “take over” its Twitter account and post a series of observations about my trip from San Francisco to Paris via Munich.
Having never flown to or from Munich Airport (MUC), I was eager to have a look around since it’s considered Europe’s best airport by many frequent travelers. I was also interested in flying Lufthansa again– last time I took to the skies on LH was when it first deployed its Airbus A380 between Frankfurt and SFO— way back in 2012.
On SFO-MUC, it uses an Airbus A340-600 with a very unusual feature: a staircase leading to a below-deck bank of lavatories and the crew rest area. I’d often heard about this, but had never actually seen it, so as soon as I boarded, I went straight to the staircase for a photo shoot 🙂
What else made this an attractive offer? Oktoberfest of course! Alas, the day I departed the US (Oct 3) was the last day of Munich’s big celebration, so when I arrived the city was pretty quiet. But it was a big surprise to find the Lufthansa crew on this flight dressed in dirndls and lederhosen— something that Lufthansa surprises passengers with on flights from around the world to Munchen during the festival.
Disclosure: In exchange for my Twitter takeover, Lufthansa covered the cost of my roundtrip airfare. I paid for hotels, transfers, wi-fi, meals and everything else associated with the trip.
Come on along for the trip, check out my tweets and photos, and let me know what you think!
Tonight I’m @cjmcginnis flying a big beautiful Lufthansa A340 SFO>Munich! C’mon and follow along as I take over this Twitter feed! pic.twitter.com/lD7U0JQCPy
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 4, 2017
First, let’s take a look at the four cabins on this big long A340-600: First, business, premium economy and economy.

First class on an A340 configured 1-2-1 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Lufthansa business class on an Airbus A340-600. I was seated on a center-aisle. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Premium economy onboard LH A340-600 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Economy class on the A340 is configured 2-4-2 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Celebrating the last day of #Oktoberfest with SFO>MUC A340 crew in dirndl & lederhosen ??? pic.twitter.com/iSMXj6frOz
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 4, 2017
Lacto-ovo special meal + a cool crisp Riesling overnight on SFO>MUC in A340 business class. Now time to lie flat & ??? pic.twitter.com/ZkrJe2G7cS
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 4, 2017
Good night from LH 459 SFO>MUC ? see you for breakfast over the North Sea! pic.twitter.com/YwSQnckSFE
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 4, 2017
Guten morgen! @cjmcginnis is back taking over this Twitter account. Strong tailwinds = 9 hrs SFO>MUC. 6 hrs lie flat sleep? pic.twitter.com/WACCitbmK0
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 4, 2017
Fond farewell from LH crew dressed in dirndls & lederhosen for #Oktoberfest SFO MUC pic.twitter.com/CGZDxR0Tpj
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 4, 2017
Moving on to another mode of transport: The S-Bahn to central Munchen. 40 minute ride? pic.twitter.com/sUpc0EU7sK
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 4, 2017
Germany arranged a gorgeous sunset over the Munchen Hauptbahnhof for my arrival ? #lufthansatravels @cjmcginnis pic.twitter.com/5BMVHUD4DB
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 5, 2017
My room at the @BestWestern Atrium hotel in central Munich. Easy walk from Hauptbahnhof ? pic.twitter.com/OQyITCev4P
— Chris McGinnis (@cjmcginnis) October 4, 2017
My 12-hour layover in Munich includes a hearty German meal and beer at Augustiner! Yum! #lufthansatravels pic.twitter.com/iFss0istrD
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 5, 2017
Now I know why Munich Airport #MUC is a business traveler favorite ? light, bright lovely #lufthansatravels ? pic.twitter.com/xHlGqbtL3B
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 5, 2017
Quick look at Lufthansa business & senator lounges at Munich terminal 2 – see 4 photos #MUC #lufthansatravels pic.twitter.com/BgC2ABJMts
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 5, 2017
A great day for flying Lufthansa from Munich to Paris! #lufthansatravels pic.twitter.com/U9fuyhzz5n
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 5, 2017
A farewell until next week when @cjmcginnis takes over Lufthansa’s handle again for CDG-FRA-SFO #lufthansatravels au revoir pic.twitter.com/DOh7oa0csv
— Lufthansa USA (@Lufthansa_USA) October 5, 2017
Answer to the question in the caption at the top of this post: Lufthansa flies three planes with staircases: The Boeing 747, Airbus A380 and the Airbus A340.
Have you flown Lufthansa recently? Flown through Munich airport? What did you think? Comments below, please!
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