This summer, space enthusiasts have something to look forward to. In July and August, Lufthansa will offer its Business Class passengers on long-haul flights departing from Germany, the opportunity to experience what life is like in outer space – at least in the culinary sense.
Passengers will have the chance to enjoy one of the meals that Alexander Gerst, German ESA astronaut, and his crew will receive onboard the International Space Station (ISS): Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms.
Earlier this year, the LSG Group, Lufthansa’s catering and hospitality authority, custom-developed and supplied the “bonus” food for Alexander Gerst, who started the “Horizons” mission on June 6. In addition to the “usual” space food consumed by the astronauts aboard the ISS, “bonus” meals are consumed on special occasions by the crew as a team event to foster spirit and motivation during their six-month stay in space.
“Anything is possible” was the mantra of the LSG Group Culinary Excellence Team as they collaborated with the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide the bonus dishes for the Horizons mission. With particular consideration to the unique requirements of space food, which will be consumed in zero gravity, they developed six special meals which were specifically requested by Alexander Gerst.
The collection includes typical dishes from the astronaut’s home region, Swabia, such as Maultaschen and Spätzle, and his preferred international dishes, including Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms. In order to ensure that the meals fulfilled the specific health and safety requirements of the mission, the LSG Group team designed them as low sodium and able to maintain a shelf life of two years.
About The Lufthansa Group
The Lufthansa Group is the world’s biggest airline group in in terms of revenue, and is also the market leader in Europe’s airline sector. The Group strives to be the “First Choice in Aviation” for its customers, employees, shareholders and partners. And safety, quality, reliability and innovation are the prime credentials and priorities of all its business activities.
The Lufthansa Group is divided into the three strategic areas of Hub Airlines, Point-to-Point Business and Service Companies. The Group’s network carriers, with their premium brands of Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines, serve its home market from their Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna hubs. With its Eurowings brand, the Group also offers short- and long-haul point-to-point services in the growing private travel market. And with its service companies, which are all global market leaders in their individual industries, the Lufthansa Group has found success in further areas of the aviation business.
The Lufthansa Group’s airlines currently (Summer Schedule) serve 343 destinations in 103 countries on four continents and offer 25,128 weekly frequencies. The Group’s total fleet comprises some 728 aircraft and its member airlines will be taking delivery of 174 new aircraft between now and 2025. In 2017, the Lufthansa Group employed around 130,000 personnel, welcomed 130 million passengers aboard its flights and generated sales of around EUR 35.6 billion.
The Lufthansa Group is headed by its five-member Executive Board. Carsten Spohr is Chairman & CEO; Thorsten Dirks is in charge of Eurowings and aviation services; Harry Hohmeister bears responsibility for the commercial management of the Group’s hub airlines and airports; Ulrik Svensson is head of finance and IT; and Dr. Bettina Volkens is in charge of HR and legal affairs.
For further information please visit www.lufthansagroup.com.
