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Browsing Tag: Seattle Tacoma International Airport

Lufthansa launches 3x weekly Seattle-Munich route

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A Lufthansa A350 taxiing to the terminal at SEA
A Lufthansa A350 taxiing to the terminal at SEA on its inaugural flight from Munich

New route launches are always exciting, both for travelers wanting to visit the new location, and for we AvGeeks who get to cover the event itself.

On May 31, Lufthansa launched new nonstop service between Seattle and Munich, using A350s for the route. The airline already provides daily service between Seattle and Frankfurt, with that route having been established back in 2008; it is flown with A330s and A340s.

Flight LH488 arrived at SEA to a traditional water-turret salute from the airport fire department
Flight LH488 arrived at SEA to a traditional water-turret salute from the airport fire department

The new service runs SEA-MUH as flight LH488 on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, departing at 6:50 pm and arriving in Munich at 1:45 pm the following day. The MUC-SEA leg is LH488, running every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday with a 3:30 pm departure and a 4:59 pm arrival into Seattle.

Don Bunkenburg/Senior Director Sales USA Central, West & Central America Lufthansa Group
Rick Duncan/SEA Airport Director, Aviation Business & Properties
A traditional ribbon cutting was held at the departure gate

Lufthansa is a Star Alliance member, offering easy connections with its 26 member airlines.

The Lufthansa A350-900 at the gate in Seattle
The Lufthansa A350-900 at the gate in Seattle

Being in the terminal with all my cameras, I couldn’t resist photographing other planes.

Speaking of Germany, Condor also had a plane at the gate for its daily service to Frankfort
Speaking of Germany, Condor also had a plane at the gate for its daily service to Frankfurt

The Lufthansa inaugural marks the third new international service for SEA in 2024 (the first two this year were Hainan’s service to Chonqing and Alaska Airlines service to Toronto), bringing the total to 50 services to 33 international destinations on 25 different airlines.

One of SEA's airport fire trucks arriving at the gate for the water-cannon salute
One of SEA’s airport fire trucks arriving at the gate for the water-cannon salute

Two fire trucks were stationed at each side of the gate to provide an arch via their water cannons for the inaugural arrival.

D-AIXP touching down in Seattle on its inaugural flight from Munich
D-AIXP touching down in Seattle on its inaugural flight from Munich

It was a beautiful day to be out on the ramp to document the arrival.

D-AIXP, headed back to Munich from Seattle
D-AIXP, headed back to Munich from Seattle

From the Taxiway: Spotting at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

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A Condor Airbus A330 with Mt. Rainier in the background.

It is one thing to smell jet fuel (which we did), but we also enjoyed the smell of burning rubber after each aircraft touched down. Most times I will use my longer lens when spotting at airports, but we were so close that I often had to swap out for my shorter one… and that is not a bad thing. I am by no means a professional photographer (I use auto mode, like a noob), but Francis is. So, here are some amazing photos, most taken by Francis, that we took during our little adventure…