Lufthansa plans to operate its first Airbus A380 flights to Tokyo Narita and Beijing.

The Star Alliance carrier, which will take delivery of its first A380 on 19 May, will operate the superjumbo jet between Frankfurt and Tokyo thrice-weekly from 11 June.

From 26 August, thrice-weekly A380 flights between Beijing and Frankfurt will commence, says Lufthansa. Its third A380 destination will be Johannesburg.

The A380 will replace part of the daily Boeing 747 flights to Narita and Beijing. Lufthansa plans to operate A380s daily to both cities when its third and fourth A380s arrive later this year.

"We have decided that two out of three first Lufthansa A380 destinations will be in the Asia-Pacific region. Our commitment to our customers, partners and many thousands employees in this region and our confidence in the ongoing positive development of the markets here could not be stronger," says Lufthansa's VP of Asia-Pacific Uwe Mueller.

Lufthansa had previously indicated that New York could be its first A380 destination.

The airline will operate its first A380 long-haul flight on 6 June, when it transports the German national football team to the World Cup in South Africa, before revenue services begin on 11 June.

Lufthansa's A380 will have 526 seats configured in three classes: eight seats in first class, 98 seats in business class, and 420 seats in economy class.

The carrier expects to take delivery of four A380s this year.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news