Why Are So Many New LH Planes Unnamed?

na · Wed May 14, 2014 6:36 pm

LH seems to loose track a bit with their traditional naming process. Of all the new planes that were delivered in the past years or so about 50% have not received a name yet. Only the new fleet flagships, the A380 and 748, all got a name before going into service. Half of the A346- and A333-fleets are still flying "incognito", not to speak of smaller planes. Very recently some of the A32x-fleets have been christened (mostly given the small/midsize town names of retired 737s), but the practice of the A36/333-fleets remains odd with almost all new deliveries not being named since 2006!

catiii · Wed May 14, 2014 6:59 pm

A quick read of the thread title threw me. I read it as: Why Are So Many New LH Plane Unmanned. Now THAT would have been interesting

na · Thu May 15, 2014 10:22 am

I am a bit surprised that apparently no one knows anything about it.

Fly-K · Thu May 15, 2014 10:29 am

Let's ask the question the other way around: are there many major German cities whose name is currently not worn by any LH plane?

breiz · Thu May 15, 2014 10:31 am

Quoting na (Thread starter):
LH seems to loose track a bit with their traditional naming process.

- not fashion anymore
- running out of names of interest
- too expensive paint work
- the lady/guy in charge has left
- being an airline of the world, some German town names do not fit in the big picture

Can't find a really plausible explanation, owing for the skills in organization and planning of German people.

na · Thu May 15, 2014 10:37 am

Quoting Fly-K (Reply 3):
Let's ask the question the other way around: are there many major German cities whose name is currently not worn by any LH plane?

Well, not major cities as much as I am aware. But as a 744 carries the name of the rather small city of Wolfsburg, why not name an A346 after Osnabrück, Weimar or Bad Homburg. Just for example, as these cities are painted on smaller planes. There are plenty of smaller cities left which could be used.

breiz · Thu May 15, 2014 10:42 am

About names at Lufthansa, here something else:

"On the 16th of May, the first “Fanhansa Airbus” will take off from Munich to Hamburg and London. The first flight will be LH 2066 departing at 11.20 a.m. from Terminal 2. This Airbus A321-200 will be followed by two additional short-haul aircraft and a total of five long-haul aircraft, including the Boeing 747-8, the world’s longest aircraft, which will feature the ‘Fanhansa’ logo."

The traditional Lufthansa title is replaced by Fanhansa with a football ball

AyostoLeon · Thu May 15, 2014 10:47 am

The following web page offers some insight into Lufthansa's naming programme. It seems to suggest that there is a fair bit of competition between cities to have their name on an aircraft. The page mentions 245 current applicants. I wonder whether LH could generate an income from "naming rights"?

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/themen/aircraft-naming.html

breiz · Thu May 15, 2014 11:07 am

Quoting AyostoLeon (Reply 7):
The following web page offers some insight into Lufthansa's naming programme.

Well done. You are more clever than me. I tried to find it but did not succeed.
Yet, despite the staggering number of applicants, there are plenty of un-named planes.

DexSwart · Thu May 15, 2014 11:18 am

Quoting Fly-K (Reply 3):
there many major German cities whose name is currently not worn by any LH plane?

I'll remember that next time I fly on "Johannesburg". Named after Johannesburg, South Africa. Or "Zürich". Or "Peking". They're all A380's.

Just pointing it out.

Now, KLM, on the other hand. They can name aircraft.

My favourite was seeing "Federation Square, Melbourne" in Kigali.

PanHAM · Thu May 15, 2014 11:39 am

"Wolfsburg" is the home town of what is probably LH's largest customer. May be Otto Versand is larger but Michael Otto has or had his Name on an MD11.

My adopted home town, Wilhelmshaven, had, over the years a 727, 737, an A343 which was retired and now it's an A320.

There are so many cities in Germany that LH cannot run out of names. They are still doing changes, like Duesseldorf, which was a 744 now slated for retirement/scrapping, now has ist Name on an A380. fitting for the A380 Diversion Airport .

Now, to answer the question, may be it is a mixture of Mayors and Magistrate members who are not interested or oppose aviation as environmentally bad and LH's score not really pushing These expenses.

I would like to see my present home town Name on a regional Jet, but much more Monika Grubers (she's a stand up comdian) home town, Tittenkofen in Bavaria.

Fly-K · Thu May 15, 2014 11:50 am

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 10):
would like to see my present home town Name on a regional Jet, but much more Monika Grubers (she's a stand up comdian) home town, Tittenkofen in Bavaria.

...pun intended? That would be a popular name indeed

Quoting DexSwart (Reply 9):
I'll remember that next time I fly on "Johannesburg". Named after Johannesburg, South Africa. Or "Zürich". Or "Peking". They're all A380's.

Sorry for ommitting the special 380 naming procedures. With more A380 destinations in the network, that might lead to more naming opportunities too.

Sometimes it seems to take some time after the retirement of an aircraft until the name is applied again, even though there have also been instances of two aircraft simultaneously wearing the same name, or switching names during the aircraft's lifespan at LH.

na · Thu May 15, 2014 11:58 am

Quoting AyostoLeon (Reply 7):
http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/themen/aircraft-naming.html

Thank you, this page was unknown to me. Even if it shows my work.

Quoting DexSwart (Reply 9):
I'll remember that next time I fly on "Johannesburg". Named after Johannesburg, South Africa. Or "Zürich". Or "Peking". They're all A380's.

The A380 is the only type in the LH fleet which by concept also carries the names of international cities, major LH destinations that is.

Generally the bigger the plane, the bigger the city which name it displays. But there are many exceptions. Braunschweig is much bigger than Wolfsburg and the towns are neighbours, yet the former adorns a A320, the latter a 744. Essen is almost 4 times bigger and more important than its neighbour Mühlheim, yet the latter is on a 744, the former on an A340. The little town of Gummersbach is on a A346, while Osnabrück, three times as big, is a A321. Notable and historically important cities with 250.000 inhabitants like Münster and Magdeburg are on A320s, rather unknown places with much below 100.000 inhabitants like Viersen and Lünen on A343s.

The 747s are the only ones which beside major cities (here it seems to be limited to the names of federal state capitals soon) carry the names of the German federal states.

Some names are double for some time. There were two "Thüringen" last year, and now there are two "Hessen", a 744 (one of those which are planned to fly beyond 2020 so I wonder if it will be flying unnamed for a rather long period soon) and a 748 delivered 3 months ago. There are two "Paderborn" also, one a A343, the other a recently named A321.

bobnwa · Thu May 15, 2014 12:01 pm

I think that a lot of airlines do not name their aircraft

na · Thu May 15, 2014 12:06 pm

Quoting bobnwa (Reply 13):
I think that a lot of airlines do not name their aircraft

By far the most dont. Of the majors, only LH, QF, KLM, IB come easily to my mind. Austrian and Swiss also do it. Malaysia did name their 747s. I think its a nice touch.

PanHAM · Thu May 15, 2014 1:19 pm

Quoting Fly-K (Reply 11):
...pun intended?

of course.

The flag ships 747 and 380 are all named, only a few of the 346s are, as someone mentioned carry names and IMHO there are enough cities left.

LH Cargo hs gone another way with their 777F which is debatable. imagine they had that concept 10 years ago and an MD11 was named G'Day Australi..What would they have done on the last flight?

varsity · Thu May 15, 2014 1:35 pm

With the advent of jet bridges it is less obvious to many customers that a plane is named unless the airline makes it a point to either use the name verbally or display it somewhere inside the cabin. I have been on many flights where you barely get to see the plane. B6's planes all have names but this is only sometimes mentioned in boarding announcements, and the gate layout, placement of the jet bridge and the forward swing of the 1L door mean it's the luck of the draw whether you can even see it.

I like the tradition, which reminds me of PA and the naming of ships. Even those are getting names with less and less imagination. When I learn someone was on a cruise and ask them what ship, the answer is typically, "Um... Carnival?" Not surprising since the ships all look alike and the names are banal and interchangeable.

na · Thu May 15, 2014 1:41 pm

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 10):
Now, to answer the question, may be it is a mixture of Mayors and Magistrate members who are not interested or oppose aviation as environmentally bad and LH's score not really pushing These expenses.

Guess we wont see "Flörsheim" then

Although there is a A319 Kelsterbach, a town with many FRA enemies.

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 10):
"Wolfsburg" is the home town of what is probably LH's largest customer.

That seems to be the reason behind it. Also, the 744 Wolfburg is D-ABVW. VW=Volkswagen=Wolfsburg. I think LH specially approached the city. Its a perfect fit. Its sometimes so that the last letter of a registration is the first of the city or local name it carries, like the new D-ABYN Niedersachsen, or D-ABYS Saarland, D-ABTK Kiel and so on.

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 10):
I would like to see my present home town Name on a regional Jet, but much more Monika Grubers (she's a stand up comdian) home town, Tittenkofen in Bavaria.

Then Darmstadt´s suburb Wixhausen is a given which isnt far from FRA.

PanHAM · Thu May 15, 2014 2:04 pm

Quoting na (Reply 17):
Guess we wont see "Flörsheim" then Although there is a A319 Kelsterbach, a town with many FRA enemies.

Ruesselsheim is right underneath the flight path and has ist Name on a 319. Raunheim should take the offer as well.

Kelsterbach hs by trdition usually a 319/320, it's bavarian Counterpart Hallbergmoos sports a E195.

BTW, a good number of MUC based E195 have City names of Bavarian towns around MUC, there are a few left and I herewith suggest to Name one of them "Tittenkofen". The Gruberin would certainly love it, of course she'd be the Godmother.

DexSwart · Thu May 15, 2014 2:28 pm

Quoting varsity (Reply 16):
unless the airline makes it a point to either use the name verbally

The only airline I know to do this is MK, or Air Mauritius. Quite a mouthful to say "Welcome on board our Airbus A340/A330, Paille-en-Queue/Nepuhar/TrochetÍa" and so forth. It's a nice touch, but I think it only works for MK because of the small fleet.

I heard it once on Qantas. That was only because I was flying on the special "Socaroos" 747.

Basically, its useless.

Naming aircraft nowadays is merely sentiment based.

Quoting Fly-K (Reply 11):
Sorry for ommitting the special 380 naming procedures. With more A380 destinations in the network, that might lead to more naming opportunities too.

My apologies, actually. I didn't realise how harsh that reply seemed.

Isn't there an A340 named after Halifax or Gander too? To thank the people of that city for their assistance during 9/11?

varsity · Thu May 15, 2014 3:29 pm

Quoting DexSwart (Reply 19):
Basically, its useless.

Naming aircraft nowadays is merely sentiment based.

Wasn't it always?

I think it is an opportunity for branding, community engagement (naming contest, etc.) but one that remains obscured to most of the flying public unless the airline chooses to play it up. BN jets used to wear female first names (which, along with the "fly me" slogan was kinda suggestive... went right along with the uniforms of the day).

Viscount724 · Thu May 15, 2014 11:47 pm

Quoting varsity (Reply 20):
BN jets used to wear female first names (which, along with the "fly me" slogan was kinda suggestive... went right along with the uniforms of the day).

That was National Airlines, not Braniff.

MaxiAir · Fri May 16, 2014 12:16 am

Quoting DexSwart (Reply 19):
Isn't there an A340 named after Halifax or Gander too? To thank the people of that city for their assistance during 9/11?

There was one, D-AIGC, but it had been retired recently

tyler81190 · Fri May 16, 2014 3:03 am

I know this is off topic, but sort of the right place to ask, does UA still name aircraft? I know before the merger they had a few named aircraft, including one, Tom Stucker for their number one flyer...

Does LH have any planes named after passengers?

na · Fri May 16, 2014 8:24 am

Quoting tyler81190 (Reply 23):
Does LH have any planes named after passengers?

Not LH itself, but LH Cargo has one MD-11F named after a major client.

Quoting MaxiAir (Reply 22):
There was one, D-AIGC, but it had been retired recently

Wrong, "Gander/Halifax" ist D-AIFC and one of the youngest A343s in the fleet, so that one will be active for some years still.

bwest · Fri May 16, 2014 9:52 am

Quoting varsity (Reply 16):
With the advent of jet bridges it is less obvious to many customers that a plane is named unless the airline makes it a point to either use the name verbally or display it somewhere inside the cabin.

The LH aircraft have the name of the city and the city shield displayed inside the cabin normally.

comorin · Fri May 16, 2014 2:39 pm

So, is there a LH aircraft named "Reeperbahn" ?

PanHAM · Fri May 16, 2014 3:32 pm

Reeperbahn is a street, not a City. The City part would be St. Pauli, but LH does not Name aircraft after parts of the City with one exception, "Finkenwerder".which is also a part of Hamburg.

One of the first 321s carries that Name.

A333MSPtoAMS · Fri May 16, 2014 10:52 pm

Quoting na (Reply 14):

Quoting bobnwa (Reply 13):
I think that a lot of airlines do not name their aircraft

By far the most dont. Of the majors, only LH, QF, KLM, IB come easily to my mind. Austrian and Swiss also do it. Malaysia did name their 747s. I think its a nice touch.

Others include:
Scandinavian Airlines
SWISS
Alitalia
Aeroflot
Thai Airways
Icelandair

b747400erf · Fri May 16, 2014 11:13 pm

Passengers don't care. It's not a media event that an airline takes delivery of a model like the 330. But a new model like the 747-800 or 777F can be made into an event the media covers and gives publicity to the airline.

MD80 · Sat May 17, 2014 12:55 am

Quoting DexSwart (Reply 19):
"Welcome on board our Airbus A340/A330, Paille-en-Queue/Nepuhar/TrochetÍa"

I like this touch and remember my first Lufthansa A320-flight in 1993: "Good morning and welcome aboard our Lufthansa Airbus A320 "Buxtehude" on this morning service from Hamburg to London".

comorin · Sat May 17, 2014 1:31 am

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 27):

Thank you - just curious if the tourism value of a place is a consideration.

Also, after reunification, a lot of new names must have been added to the pool?

AyostoLeon · Sat May 17, 2014 3:01 am

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 27):
LH does not Name aircraft after parts of the City

That's a pity. I would have liked to see one named "Barmbeker Deern".

An airline that LH had a stake in, Condor, used to have a couple of 747s named "Max" and "Fritz". Amusing enough but Max und Moritz would have been funnier.

777Jet · Sat May 17, 2014 3:46 am

Perhaps there is a business in selling the right to name a plane to the highest bidder? Airlines looking to raise some ching ching, especially with large fleet numbers, take note...

comorin · Sat May 17, 2014 4:36 am

Quoting AyostoLeon (Reply 32):

How about "Schlaraffenland"?

Seriously, one of my favorite places was Travemunde - is there an LH craft with that name?

PanHAM · Sat May 17, 2014 5:22 am

Quoting AyostoLeon (Reply 32):
That's a pity. I would have liked to see one named "Barmbeker Deern".

Barmbeker deern is a girl from Barmbek. Fuhlsbuettel might have a chance but then.....

The 2 Condor 747-100 did have the names Max and Moritz AFAIKR

AyostoLeon · Sat May 17, 2014 6:20 am

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 35):
Barmbeker deern is a girl from Barmbek.

And a very pretty girl at that, so why wouldn't anyone wish to fly with her?

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 35):
The 2 Condor 747-100 did have the names Max and Moritz

I would have thought that to be the case but a publication put out by Lufthansa Technik AG to celebrate 50 years partnership between LH and Boeing, states

Quote:
And what could better illustrate the profitability of the world’s first widebody jet than its use on Condor’s vacation routes? The Jumbos, named “Max” and “Fritz”, were the first 747s to be used by a charter airline, bringing sun-starved Condor passengers safely to their vacation destinations from 1971 to 1979.

(History with a Future: 50 years Boeing jet aircraft for Lufthansa, p.31, May 2010.)

[Edited 2014-05-16 23:23:56]

FlyCaledonian · Sat May 17, 2014 9:15 am

Quoting breiz (Reply 4):
- the lady/guy in charge has left

I think this happened with BA, as the naming of aircraft stopped a year or so before the World Tails colours (None of the G-VIIx 777s that wore Landor were named to a theme like other BA fleets).

G-CIVP · Sat May 17, 2014 12:01 pm

Quoting breiz (Reply 4):

- not fashion anymore
- running out of names of interest
- too expensive paint work
- the lady/guy in charge has left
- being an airline of the world, some German town names do not fit in the big picture

As breiz notes, I think naming aircraft is a bit corny these days. In the good old days, it was probably more easier to manage with smaller fleets but now the major airliners are now global players, it seems to be a 'nice to have' rather than anything else. Then there is the hassle of reapplying names after repaints and the need for different stencils, positioning, etc. Ultimately, does anyone really notice or care? Most passengers want a free upgrade rather feeling better for flying the River Avon, Conway Castle and the like.

na · Sat May 17, 2014 1:36 pm

The first "Fanhansa", a formerly unnamed A321, has been named "Göttingen" this week. Its doing some cup final flights from Munich today.

Semaex · Sat May 17, 2014 7:58 pm

Quoting na (Reply 12):
The A380 is the only type in the LH fleet which by concept also carries the names of international cities, major LH destinations that is

As metioned before, Gander/Halifax. I truely love the story behind this. Tragic-encouraging. Was a big gesture by LH.

Since names of major towns and cities seem to run out in the LH network, I have been in favor of naming LH aircraft by important german regions for ages.
Schwarzwald, Bayerischer Wald, Mittelrhein, Lüneburger Heide, Spreewald etc

I admit, they don't sound too international. But likewise "Düsseldorf" isn't much of a killer either.

To me, naming aircraft is a good thing, especially with geographic places one can relate to.
I always have a look at the name of the ICE (highspeed train) which I'm driving on, named after a german city. I particularly like that they wear the city's coat of arms next to the name. Gives it some more colour.

kurtjeter · Sun May 18, 2014 1:08 am

Quoting na (Reply 17):
Quoting PanHAM (Reply 10):Now, to answer the question, may be it is a mixture of Mayors and Magistrate members who are not interested or oppose aviation as environmentally bad and LH's score not really pushing These expenses.
Guess we wont see "Flörsheim" then Although there is a A319 Kelsterbach, a town with many FRA enemies.

My gosh, I have friends who used to live in Floersheim and sitting on their back patio watching the planes fly right over was fantastic!

kurtjeter · Sun May 18, 2014 1:14 am

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 21):
Quoting varsity (Reply 20):BN jets used to wear female first names (which, along with the "fly me" slogan was kinda suggestive... went right along with the uniforms of the day).
That was National Airlines, not Braniff.

And, while they didn't name their a/c after women--or any people, that I know of--we could add Pan Am: used to name their planes with "imagination," e.g., Clipper Westwind, Berlin Express (737 to TXL and back), Clipper Victory, etc.

LH707330 · Sun May 18, 2014 1:39 am

Quoting na (Reply 17):
Then Darmstadt´s suburb Wixhausen is a given which isnt far from FRA.

That would make an amusing welcome PA announcement

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 27):
Reeperbahn is a street, not a City. The City part would be St. Pauli, but LH does not Name aircraft after parts of the City with one exception, "Finkenwerder".which is also a part of Hamburg.

Finkenwerder makes sense, it's where the plane was built, and is the first LH 321.

Quoting na (Reply 39):
The first "Fanhansa", a formerly unnamed A321, has been named "Göttingen" this week. Its doing some cup final flights from Munich today.

Wow, they must have scrapped D-AIGF then

Quoting Semaex (Reply 40):
I particularly like that they wear the city's coat of arms next to the name. Gives it some more colour.

LH used to do this too with their 707s in the 1960s. IIRC, they stopped having the coat of arms when they changed the livery in 1968. Quite a shame IMHO.

For those of you not aware, there's a really cool site that tracks these names:
http://www.lh-taufnamen.de/lufthansa/

MaxiAir · Sun May 18, 2014 7:30 am

Quoting LH707330 (Reply 43):
Wow, they must have scrapped D-AIGF then

Actually its "just" stored in Tupelo, rumours were those birds might return for LH's planed leisure services. The fact, that they haven't been parted out, as all 744's have been, supports this rumour.

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