Lufthansa Is Decking out Flights in Oktoberfest Kegs and Garb
Munich's Oktoberfest is upon us and Lufthansa crews are here to help passengers get a head start to the celebration. As part of a yearly tradition, Lufthansa cabin crews swap their uniforms for traditional Bavarian costumes on select flights from Munich (MUC). This year, the first costume flight will depart for New York (EWR) on Wednesday. Not only will the cabin crew be dressed up in dirndls and lederhosen, the airline is also supplying passengers with kegs of fresh beer.
The beer comes in an "airworthy" keg that was specifically designed for Lufthansa's costume flights. The keg's carbon dioxide pressure is regulated by value, which prevents the pressure from becoming too much on board, so that the keg can be tapped even at an altitude of 30,000 feet, the airline said in a statement.
Additionally, through September and October, Lufthansa Business Class passengers will have access to an exclusive Oktoberfest menu featuring ox tartare with truffle, char with Riesling sauce and Bavarian cream with pistachio pesto. Munich's 12 Lufthansa lounges in Terminal 2 and the satellite building will also offer Oktoberfest specials like Leberkäse, pretzels and white sausage. Last year, loungers consumed more than 8,000 pounds of Leberkäse, more than 38,000 pretzels and around 1,600 pounds of white sausage. Restaurants in Lufthansa's First Class Lounges will also have specials like Oktoberfest soup and rustic-style duck and apricot and plum dumplings with vanilla espuma as desserts.
More Bavarian costume flights will continue on Sept. 25 from Munich to Singapore (SIN) and Oct. 6 from Munich to Shanghai (PVG). There will also be crews dressed up on select European flights. One of the crews on the Lufthansa CityLine will be dressed in the traditional costumes from Oct. 5-7; their destinations are Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Luxembourg, Pisa, Genoa, Amsterdam, Rzeszow, Timisoara, and Cagliari.
Lastly, passengers landing at Munich's Terminal 2 during the first weekend of Oktoberfest (Sept. 22) will receive a special festivities box filled with a ribbon for a beer mug, vitamin drink, salty pretzels and beer mug shaped fruit gummies. If you aren't able to catch one of these Lufthansa flights or make it over to Munich for the beer halls, you can still pretend you're there at various craft beer spots around the US.