Lufthansa comes to TPA
In a major new partnership, Tampa International Airport and Lufthansa announced today the airline will add five-day-a-week, non-stop air service from Frankfurt to Tampa beginning Sept. 25, 2015.
Tampa International is the first airport on Florida’s west coast to offer the service.
“This is a huge win for the Tampa Bay region,” said Joe Lopano, CEO of Tampa International Airport. “Lufthansa is one of the best-run and profitable airlines in the industry and their investment in this community is testament to the strength of our international travel market.”
Frankfurt is the largest of Lufthansa’s five hubs, offering easy connections to more than 145 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The service will operate using the Airbus A340-300. Flight LH 482 will leave the Lufthansa hub in Frankfurt at 11 a.m. and arrive in Tampa at 3:50 p.m. after a roughly 11-hour flight. The return flight will leave Tampa at 5:20 p.m. and arrive in Frankfurt at 8:45 a.m. the following day.
“For Tampa to continue growing our tourism and trade opportunities, we need to have more access to international markets. These types of announcements are critical to that mission and to raising our global profile,” said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “We are working collectively, as one community, to make Tampa the gateway to the world that it can be.”
The Lufthansa flight will offer 298 seats in business, premium economy and economy class, providing its latest cabin layout. Seats in the new business class transform into comfortable beds with a sleeping area of 6.5 feet. Premium economy class now offers more space and legroom. Passengers in all classes will have access to a wide range of entertainment, including an individual in-flight entertainment system and wireless broadband Internet.
“The airport’s triangle of partnership with tourism and business agencies drew Lufthansa to this region,” said Chris Minner, Tampa International Airport’s Vice President of Marketing. “It was a collective effort with a result that may mark a tipping point for global reach in our community.”
Key attractions to the region for Lufthansa are the close proximity to a number of locations for leisure passengers, including beaches, amusement parks, museums and golf courses.