There's a surprise hidden under coach on Lufthansa's A340-600
Want to access most of the special airplane treats you'll read about on TPG — inflight bars, first-class showers, suites with separate beds? You'll likely need a premium-cabin ticket. For this particular onboard surprise, however, you only need to get yourself on the right plane.
I'm talking about the bank of "lower-deck" lavatories, available on Lufthansa's longest Airbus, the A340-600 (yup, it's even a hair longer than the superjumbo A380!).
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In addition to a bank of five lavatories, which are noticeably larger than what you'll find in coach on most planes, the lower section of Lufthansa's A340-600 sports a dedicated crew rest, with room for seven off-duty flight attendants. Now-defunct Thomas Cook had a similar lavatory arrangement on its Airbus A330s.
Hoping to catch the A340-600 yourself? Lufthansa currently operates 17 of these extra-long planes. Aircraft assignments vary depending on the season and date, but, recently, the airline has flown its A346 on the following U.S. routes:
- Frankfurt (FRA)—Chicago (ORD)
- Frankfurt (FRA)—New York (JFK)
- Frankfurt (FRA)—San Francisco (SFO)
- Munich (MUC)—Boston (BOS)
- Munich (MUC)—Chicago (ORD)
- Munich (MUC)—Los Angeles (LAX)
- Munich (MUC)—New York (JFK)
I wouldn't go so far as to call this a special amenity — it's a bank of fairly standard economy lavatories, after all — but, for enthusiasts, at least, it could be worth seeking out this plane for the novelty of being able to walk up and down a flight of stairs at 30,000 feet.
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