FRANKFURT
- The new Pier A-Plus, an 800 meter-long westward expansion
of Terminal 1 opened on schedule after about four years of
construction. Passengers can expect flight operations to
begin on October 10, 2012. Find out what's lined up for
Germany's biggest hub.
The new pier is now able to
accommodate up to six million additional passengers per
year - thus a total of approximately 65 million passengers
per year. This €700 million terminal complex will be
exclusively used by Deutsche Lufthansa AG and its Star
Alliance partners. In particular, Pier A-Plus provides
more docking positions for serving wide body aircraft like
the Airbus A380 superjumbo and the Boeing B747 family.
"We've created additional
space for up to six million passengers per year. This
extra capacity will allow us to meet traffic growth
expected in the coming years and to strengthen our role as
one of the world's leading aviation hubs. This terminal
expansion also sets new standards for the travel experience
of our passengers and for terminal management. Our guests
from around the world will benefit from advanced handling
facilities and a wide range of shops and restaurants.
Easier transferring between short-haul and long-haul
flights will result in enhanced comfort of our customers,"
said Fraport's executive board chairman Dr. Stefan
Schulte.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG's
executive board chairman Christoph Franz commented: "I am
convinced that Pier A-Plus will be well appreciated by our
guests. Five new lounges and the latest technology set new
standards. With Pier A-Plus, our FRA home base is again at
the forefront among Europe's major hub airports. This is
good news for the German aviation industry and the
Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which particularly benefits
from Germany's biggest airport."
Volker Bouffier, the prime
minister of the German federal state of Hesse, declared:
"The opening of the new pier marks a further milestone for
Frankfurt Airport and secures long-term development
opportunities in an extremely competitive growth market.
Frankfurt Airport serves not only as our gateway to the
world, but also is a renowned international calling card
for the City of Frankfurt and the rest of the State of
Hesse. Our airport is, by far, the largest employment
complex at a single location in all of Germany -- and
serves as the job motor of the entire region and as heart
of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main transportation hub."
Florian Rentsch, Hesse's
minister of economics and transportation, stated: "The
inauguration of the new Pier A-Plus represents another
important chapter of the Frankfurt hub and its users. I am
convinced that the system partnership existing between
Fraport and Lufthansa will continue writing this success
story that also benefits the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main
region."
Pier A-Plus with
185,000m2 of total useable floor space is the
largest above-ground construction project at Frankfurt
Airport since the opening of Terminal 2 in 1994. It
provides seven docking positions for long-haul aircraft:
four designed for double-decker jets like the A380
superjumbo served by three passenger bridges (one for the
upper deck and two for the main deck), and three more
positions with two passenger bridges for aircraft like the
Boeing 747-8 and Airbus 340. Alternatively, eleven narrow
body jets can be handled simultaneously at Pier A-Plus -
ensuring optimum flexibility.
The new pier makes the
transfer processes significantly easier and faster at
Lufthansa's biggest hub. In the future, all incoming
flights from the U.S. will be handled at Area A of Terminal
1. The minimum connecting for many transfer flights on
these routes will be reduced from currently 60 minutes to
45 minutes. Furthermore, the so-called docking rate will
increase noticeably. That means that more aircraft can
directly dock on the terminal and do not have to be parked
at remote apron positions. This is much more comfortable
for travellers than having to be transported to the
terminal by bus, and it reduces the complexity of
operations.
Pier A-Plus features five
Lufthansa lounges: one First Class, two Senator and two
Business lounges where guests can take a break, work or get
refreshed. These facilities expand Lufthansa's total
lounge space at FRA by almost 50 percent to more than
14,000 square meters. Other details in the pier enhance
the comfort of passengers: The moving walkways are longer
and broader in order to shorten walking distances and to
pass other guests who are not in a hurry. Furthermore, the
generous waiting areas have seats with integrated power
outlets and USB ports for electronic devices.
A new standard is also set
in terms of retail concepts at this new expansion of
Terminal 1. A total surface area of about 12,000 square
meters is dedicated to some 60 shops and restaurants, which
are mainly concentrated at two central marketplaces. For
the first time at FRA, Duty Free and Travel Value Shops are
conceptualized as walk-through shops. Travellers are
automatically led through the sales area after passing the
security control points.