Munich Airport
Published: 19/12/2011 - Filed under: Home » Archive » 2011 » December 2011/January 2012 » Destinations » Home » Archive » 2011 » December 2011/January 2012 »
The Facts
Opened: May 17, 1992
Location: The formal name is Franz Josef Strauß Airport, and it’s 17.7 miles northeast of city center Munich. The train ride is about 35 minutes..
Number of runways: Two (with a third possible by 2015).
Number of terminals: Two, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners are all under the one roof in Terminal 2. That means you can legitimately change planes within 30 minutes.
Number of Airlines: 100
Number of Destinations: 242 (20 domestic, 165 continental Europe, and 57 intercontinental).
Ranking: Airports Council International rates Munich the 22nd busiest airport in the world in terms of takeoffs and landings, and the 30th busiest when it comes to passengers.
Air Access and Airbräu
What’s not to like about an airport that brews its own beer, quite literally serving up hospitality by the stein full? “We have our own microbrewery here,” beams airport press officer Ingo Anspach. Munich lays claim to being the only aerodrome on earth to brew its own beer. The place is called Airbräu and you’ll find it just outside Terminal 2 in the Munich Airport Center, or MAC. Order up a quintessential Bavarian dish: a crispy roasted quarter duck, with red cabbage, apple and potato dumpling. It goes for €11.10 ($15.15). This time of year wash it down with Krampus, a dark winter brew with plenty of body and soul.
Last year Munich handled some 34.7 million souls. Not all of them frequented the airport beer garden, but most of them still managed to transit this Bavarian flughafen quite happily.
Munich in Context
Frankfurt flat-out dominated continental European connections prior to the mid-1990s. As the 9th busiest airport on the planet, it still has an important role to play today. But back then Lufthansa was experiencing a real capacity problem at FRA. “They [couldn’t] take all the hub traffic with [just] Frankfurt,” says Anspach. “They needed to build up a second major hub in Germany.” Thus Franz Josef Strauß, and its breakthrough Terminal 2, epicenter of Lufthansa’s Bavarian operations.
Outside of North America there are few instances in which a major carrier operates more than one major hub – balancing flights, coordinating complementary connections, and making the overall system flow more smoothly. The Frankfurt/Munich combo is one of those exceptions.
Teamed with Frankfurt, MUC renders Lufthansa’s far-flung route system a precision machine – fine-tuned and well-oiled. “Lufthansa uses Munich and Frankfurt as hubs,” says Anspach. “The peak [connection periods] are not parallel. One hour you’ll have a peak at Frankfurt. The next hour you’ll have a peak at Munich. The idea is that travelers get alternative possibilities by having different timetables.” In other words, options.
There are ample trans-Atlantic options to this burgeoning Bavarian airport. According to OAG, there are 11 city pairs connecting nonstop from North America to MUC: Delta from Atlanta, Lufthansa from Boston, Lufthansa from Charlotte, Star Alliance partners United and Lufthansa from Chicago O’Hare, Lufthansa from Los Angeles, Lufthansa from Montreal, Continental from New York/Newark, Lufthansa from New York JFK, US Airways from Philadelphia, Lufthansa from San Francisco, Air Canada and Air Transat from Toronto, and Lufthansa and United from Washington Dulles.
From Munich, Lufthansa offers an array of excellent Euroconnections as well. “Lufthansa has more destinations from here in Munich than from anywhere else,” says Anspach, “even Frankfurt.” Links with northern Italy are especially brisk. From MUC, you can fly nonstop to some 14 cities just on the other side of the Alps.
So intimate are the Italian connections that “there’s a sort of ‘Little Italy’ in the terminal,” says Anspach, “Italian newspapers, and an Italian bar with proper Italian coffee.”
High Standards, Higher Traffic
It’s this sort of human scale that helps distinguish Munich from larger, better-known European hubs. And passengers apparently appreciate the fact. Skytrax just named Munich Europe’s Best Airport. It’s the sixth time MUC has captured the award. Skytrax Institute director Edward Plaisted pegs the kudo to Munich’s “high standard of comfort in the terminals and the special Bavarian hospitality.”
Indeed, Bavaria isn’t Berlin. But to keep that lovin’ feeling emanating from southern Germany, Munich is going to have to build a third east/west parallel runway. Otherwise, it runs the real risk of delays – and then where’s the love? The world economic slump notwithstanding and despite airlines cutting back flight frequencies near and far, Munich managed to rack up a massive 13 percent increase in traffic over the first half of 2011. That’s why Dr. Michael Kerkloh, the CEO of FMG, the entity that runs MUC, says planning for a third runway began half-a-dozen years ago. Right now, MUC can only handle 90 takeoffs and landings per hour.
Already stretched to their limits, the airport’s twin 13,123-foot runways are for all practical purposes maxed out during peak traffic periods. “We cannot offer any slots for additional take-offs and landings,” says Kerkloh. The upshot for fliers looking to connect over MUC? Airlines are routing larger aircraft through the airport. They carry more passengers. But bigger airplanes can stretch the airport’s capacity only so far. “[Airlines] are simply unable to launch many potential new connections to and from Munich.”
A new runway would mean 120 takeoffs and landings per hour instead of the present 90, Kerkloh says. “We’re aiming to put [it] into operation as of 2015.” Now that the critical planning permission process has played out in favor of a third strip, comes a another potential hurdle. “Before we break ground, it is quite likely that we will have to await for final court rulings,” says Kerkloh.
Also in the planning stages is a satellite facility to supplement Terminal 2.
Here’s the essence of it: “For Munich Airport, it’s now a matter of maintaining our high quality standards,” says the airport CEO. “Building quantity while ensuring quality – that is the task we face in the coming years.”
Lounges, Shops & Lofty Views Lufthansa is the dominant player here. That’s reflected in the array of lounges it offers, six of them in all - two Business Lounges, and a quartet of Senator Lounges. All of them are in Terminal 2. One favored enclave is the Senator Café. Head to Level 4, Departures G, near Gate 28. This lounge sports a decidedly decent coffee bar replete with barista.
If you’re in search of a relatively seamless air-to-ground/ground-to-air experience consider Munich Airport’s VIP Services, located in Terminal 1, Module D. You’ll find lots of lounge space, a bar, quiet offices and workspaces, bathrooms and rest areas. That’s the physical layout. VIP Services can also get you a car, check in and handle your luggage, and offer separate screening and passport control. Call +49 89 975-2 13 33.
More options? Municon Conference Center, a 40-meeting room affair drenched with natural light, is located in the heart of the airport. It’s close to gates, the S-Bahn and car parks. It’s the sort of place that can accommodate a day conference and send the participants packing back to their European home offices by the time the sun sets. Contact 49 89 975-9 32 00.
For those who venture outside the lounges, Munich Airport offers a vast spread of shopping opportunities with over 130 shops, from chic international designers, high-end cosmetics and German automakers, to the requisite duty-free and souvenir shops. In Terminal 1 most shops are located in the public access area; in Terminal 2 you’ll find them after security.
Most of us like to get to, and through, airports without dawdling. Aside from lounges, we don’t much like to dwell there. A trip through Munich Airport might alter your attitude. That’s because the Bavarian Alps lie just outside the window.
Much like Denver International, this is an airport with a view: airplanes departing for a slew of faraway places with strange sounding names superimposed against Mother Nature’s majesty. It’s seductive.
Munich is one of those relatively rare airports these days that has a legitimate, outside viewing area - a place where you can watch the comings and goings of a continent. MUC’s Visitors Terrace is located atop Terminal 2, on Level 7. You access the perch via a glass-enclosed Skywalk that gently rises from Level 5.
Gesundheit & Gemütlichkeit
While Airbräu is Munich’s most famous gastronomic draw, there are plenty of other options. Municon Conference Center’s Bella Vista Restaurant delivers precisely what the name promises: magnificent views of the airfield. Other places to dine and unwind in Terminal 2 include Maredo Grill & Café Lounge, a popular steakhouse. The beef’s from South America and, this being Europe, they’re quick to point out everything on the menu is free from MSG and other artificial additives.
Something faster than a steak? Consider Bagutta Pizza Culture. It’s on the 5th Level of T2, and offers a light, open ambience.
In Terminal 1 Bruschetteria just opened in Module A. It specializes in Italian coffee and crostata, baked by the restaurant’s own pastry chef. This place doubles as a lounge of sorts, with laptop outlets, elevated tables and comfy sofas and armchairs. If you don’t rate airport lounge access this isn’t a bad place to quaff some potent caffeine and dash off some e-mails.
Better the Bavarian scenery take your breath away than something else, like an upper respiratory infection. Things do go bump in the night when you’re on the road, and you well might need more than over-the-counter meds. To that end there’s Medicare Munich Airport Medical Center GmbH (+49 (0)89 975-6 33 44/5/6). The clinic offers an array of specialties, including urology, gynecology, oral surgery and – especially handy for frequent business travelers – ear, nose and throat. The medical center is located on the third level of Module E in Terminal 1.
While there are other hotels nearby, the only property at the center of MUC is the Kempinski Hotel Airport München. It’s located ‘twixt Terminals 1 and 2. A flier favorite at the Kempinski is the fit & fly Spa. It’s a wondrous place to work out the transoceanic kinks. Kempinski lists its Best Flexible room rate at €170 ($232). Phone +49 89 9782-25 30.
Ground Game
Munich’s airport isn’t one of those close-in affairs, sited as it is almost 18 miles out of town. That mean a taxi will cost you about €58 ($80). You can choose from a smoking or non-smoking cab. A better bet, perhaps, is a shuttle bus for €10.90 ($15), or the S-Bahn. Accessible from Munich Airport Center (MAC), trains leave every ten minutes or so for the Hauptbahnhof, the city’s main rail station. “It’s about 35 minutes from the airport,” says Anspach. “[Rail connections are] not our strong point.” It’s a fast train, but it stops quite often on the way. A one-way ticket runs about €12.36 ($17). “We’re fighting for an express connection,” according to the airport’s press officer.
Verdict
Chances are you won’t be fighting for any air connections if you’re headed to or through this humanely-sized, superbly-laid out European airport. It’s just that good – and that third runway should ensure it stays that way.
By Jerome Greer Chandler
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