The wait is almost over. Lufthansa is scheduled to receive its first Airbus A380 in May. Over the last couple of months people could vote on lufthansa.com which name they want to give this new, gigantic plane. The idea was: The A380 should have a nickname, like "Jumbo Jet" for the 747. I personally suggested "Mega Jet", "Giga Jet" and "Jet 2.0" and a total of more than 10,000 suggestions were submitted. A few days ago Lufthansa announced it had made a decision. And, in my opinion, they mad a horrible decision. The A380 is now called "Lady Bee"! Awful, isn't it? I am very disappointed by this decision. Why bee??? It doesn't look like a bee. Much more like a whale. Oh well, I really doubt people will start calling the A380 "Lady Bee". I will definitely refuse to do so.
Another surprise was Lufthansa's announcement of the A380's destinations. Initially, LH hinted they would use the "Lady Bee" on its busy route from Frankfurt to New York's JFK airport. Today, however, Germany's largest airline announced it would use the first four A380s it is receiving this year on routes to Tokyo, Beijing and Johannesburg. This is really sad for me to hear. I was planning to take LH's A380 back home to Frankfurt sometime this year, which will not happen now.
All in all, two very disappointing announcements, Lufthansa! I am disappointed, but still love you...
It looks like there will be another mega airline merger coming up soon. According to a Wall Street Journal piece, Continental Airlines and United Airlines have pretty much finalized their merger talks and will be announcing the deal on Monday. According to reports, the two airlines will operate under the United name and will be headquartered in Chicago, United's current base. Continental's CEO Jeff Smisek will become CEO of the combination.
