Frankfurt Airport Opens Pier A-Plus as Scheduled

Frankfurt (ots) -

Terminal 1 Expansion Creates New Capacity for Up to Six Million
Passengers Yearly - Exclusive Utilization by Lufthansa and Star
Alliance - Five New Lufthansa Lounges

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/fraport/56603/

- Cross reference: Picture is available at epa european pressphoto
agency (http://www.epa.eu) and http://www.presseportal.de/pm/31522/ -

Frankfurt Airport's (FRA) new Pier A-Plus - the 800 meter-long
westward expansion of Terminal 1 - opened on schedule after about
four years of construction. Flight operations begin on October 10 at
the new pier, allowing Germany's biggest hub to serve up to six
million additional passengers per year - thus a total of
approximately 65 million passengers per year. This E700 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 widebody aircraft like the Airbus
A380 superjumbo and the Boeing B747 family.

"The new Pier A-Plus represents a quantum leap in Fraport's
strategy to secure the competitiveness and future capabilities of
Frankfurt Airport", says Fraport executive board chairman Dr. Stefan
Schulte. "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."

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 the 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 narrowbody 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
travelers 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. Travelers are automatically led through the sales
area after passing the security control points.

The ground-breaking ceremony for Pier A-Plus took place in
December 2008. A huge challenge during the construction phase was to
maintain ongoing operations at the neighboring area of Terminal 1 and
on the apron. Some work could only be done at nighttime. In July of
this year, the first part of the pier was already opened, the
so-called "root" or junction of A-Plus and the existing Pier A.

- ENDS -

Note: Printable and free downloadable photo material of Frankfurt
Airport and Fraport AG is available online via www.fraport.com >
Press Center > Photo Library. Free and downloadable footage for TV
editorial staff can be found on http://fraport.cms-gomex.com.

Lufthansa note to all editors: Photo material of the new pier and
further information are available under
http://konzern.lufthansa.com/en/themen/a-plus.

For Further Information, Please Contact:
Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - International Spokesman; Head of
International Press & External Activities Team, Press Office (UKM-
PS), Corporate Communications, 60547 Frankfurt, Germany; Tel.: +49
69.690.78547; E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de; Internet: www.fraport.com

Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Communications Lufthansa Passage
Andreas Bartels
Tel.: +49 69.696.2999
http://presse.lufthansa.com