DENVER (KDVR) — It’s a massive, million-pound mega airplane, and it’s been drawing equally colossal crowds at Denver International Airport for months.
For the first time in Denver International Airport’s history, Lufthansa has been flying the Airbus A380 nonstop from Denver to Munich throughout the summer and fall, and the double-decker passenger plane has been attracting legions of self-proclaimed “av geeks,” who can’t get enough of the largest passenger plane on the planet.
“Everybody stops and takes pictures and they’re just amazed by the size of the airplane,” said John Handler, Denver station manager for Lufthansa.
The airplane debuted nearly two decades ago, but for Denver flyers, this is the first chance to climb aboard. Some fans of the jet show up to the airport without a ticket to ride: they park in the airport garage just to watch the gargantuan aircraft take off and land every afternoon.
Because of the over-sized interest in the A380, the airline and airport officials gave FOX31 an exclusive tour of the massive aircraft, which seats 509 passengers and requires a crew of 21 for the nine and a half hour flight to Germany.
Fully loaded, the four-engine airplane weighs more than a million pounds and carries more than a quarter-million pounds of fuel. The plane is so big that it requires special equipment just to load food and supplies onboard.
While thousands of passengers have experienced the thrill of the A380 over the summer, time is running out for the so-called “King of the Skies.”
Captain Tom Stahlhuhtm, a Lufthansa A380 pilot, told FOX31 these jumbo jets will be relics within the next five to ten years, because newer, smaller planes are more efficient and less costly.
“The four-engine airplane time is over. They will all go to a two-engine, like the A350, and the 350 is more modern. But the guests like (the A380), the crew likes it, the airplane is nice,” he told FOX31.
Flights on the Lufthansa A380 out of Denver continue through Oct. 24, and flyers are already asking Lufthansa if it’ll be back next summer.
“Cautiously optimistic that it’ll be back next year,” Handler said.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
