Above & Beyond

An old Airbus A320 gets a second life – as a high-tech laboratory for the future. At the Hydrogen Aviation Lab in Hamburg, Lufthansa Technik is testing how hydrogen could become the fuel of tomorrow. Host Anja Heyde talks with Gerrit Rexhausen, the project lead, and Hans Bernd Aringhoff, Head of Corporate Innovation Lufthansa Technik, about how this retired jet was transformed into a unique research aircraft – complete with hydrogen tanks, a fuel cell, and a digital twin. They explain why the fuel must be kept liquid at -253°C, what challenges remain on the path to low-emission flight, and...

From Hamburg to Buenos Aires – with seven stopovers! That’s what a long-haul Lufthansa flight looked like in the early 1960s. Today, Frankfurt and Munich connect the world seamlessly as global hubs. In this episode of Above and Beyond, host Anja Heyde talks with Martina Pichura, Head of Intercontinental Network Planning, and Magnus-Raúl Abstoß, Head of Flight Scheduling at the Frankfurt Hub. Together, they take a fascinating look back at the pioneering days of aviation and reveal how Lufthansa’s route network evolved from a patchwork to a high-tech global system – with insights into data tools, AI-driven planning, and visions...

Von Hamburg nach Buenos Aires – mit sieben Zwischenstopps! So begann Anfang der 60er-Jahre ein Langstreckenflug mit Lufthansa. Heute verbinden Frankfurt und München als globale Hubs die Welt nahtlos miteinander. In dieser Folge von Above and Beyond spricht Host Anja Heyde mit Martina Pichura, verantwortlich für die interkontinentale Netzplanung, und Magnus-Raúl Abstoß, Leiter der Flugplanung am Hub Frankfurt. Gemeinsam werfen sie einen faszinierenden Blick zurück auf die Pionierzeit der Luftfahrt und zeigen, wie sich das Streckennetz von einem Flickenteppich zur Hightech-Infrastruktur wandelte – mit Einblicken in Tools, KI-gestützte Planung und Zukunftsvisionen. Dazu gibt’s historische Einblicke in die Anfänge der Lufthansa-Streckennetze...

An ash cloud over Europe, the hijacking of the ‘Landshut’, the Germanwings tragedy or the Covid-19 pandemic – crises have repeatedly pushed Lufthansa to its limits. In episode 3 of Above and Beyond, former Lufthansa COO Klaus Froese talks about responsibility, resilience and the dynamics of crisis teams. Historian Prof. Hartmut Berghoff provides historical context, while Special Assistance Team (SAT) members Carmen Luquero and Beatriz Böhm share deeply personal insights into supporting relatives and passengers in times of emergency. A behind-the-scenes look at an airline that has spent 100 years learning to live with crises – and to emerge stronger...