Lufthansa becomes third overseas carrier to operate jumbo A380 to India

German carrier Lufthansa today became the third overseas airline to operate jumbo A380 to India, with the first flight arriving at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport from Frankfurt this morning. The all-new A380, with 520 passengers on board, was welcomed with the traditional water canon ceremony at the airport and the in-flight crew was received with a traditional lamp lighting and felicitation ceremony, Lufthansa said in a release.

"This is a proud moment for us and we are delighted to welcome the first A380 to India today. It's a milestone event for us and we are very pleased to welcome the world's largest commercial passenger jet which offers the finest in terms of flying comfort, luxury and efficiency," Lufthansa director for South Asia Wolfgang Will said.

Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to operate A380 to India with the launch of a flight service to Delhi and Mumbai on May 30. Gulf carrier Emirates followed suit, and commenced A380 services here with the fist flight arriving in Mumbai from Dubai on July 21.

Lufthansa at present operates A330, A340 and B747 on its routes from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore to Europe and B737 from Pune.