Text & Photos: Dirk Grothe | digroaero.com
Following the rollout of the Lufthansa Super Star in January 2025 at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg—initially in primer—and its presentation in 1950s livery in August 2025 at Münster/Osnabrück Airport (FMO), the aircraft has now reached its final destination in Frankfurt. There, it joins the Ju 52/3m inside the new “Lufthansa Group Hangar One.” Dirk Grothe visited both aircraft ahead of the venue’s public opening this summer.
(Image credit: Dirk Grothe | digroaero.com)
Lufthansa Group’s new conference and visitor center at Frankfurt Airport is now home to the Junkers Ju 52/3m D-AQUI and the Lockheed L-1649A Super Star D-ALAN. Built between 2024 and 2026 by architectural firm Albert Speer + Partner, Hangar One measures 72 meters wide and 17.5 meters high, offering 3,800 square meters of space. Alongside the two historic aircraft, the exhibition features previously unseen items from the company archives.
(Image credit: Dirk Grothe | digroaero.com)
At the heart of Hangar One is an interactive exhibition highlighting Lufthansa’s role as a pioneer in aviation. Visitors follow a timeline from the founding of “Luft Hansa” in 1926, through its post-WWII re-establishment, to the present day. A “Follow Me” bar and an aviation-themed shop complete the experience. Hangar One is designed as a multifunctional space, bringing together Lufthansa Group employees, customers, partners, and enthusiasts. It also serves as a venue for special events. The first major gathering was the annual press conference in March 2026, followed by the airline’s official 100th anniversary celebration on April 15. New Lufthansa uniforms were also unveiled there, with the Super Star as a backdrop.
(Image credit: Dirk Grothe | digroaero.comm)
Lufthansa Super Star
A significant milestone was reached on January 17, 2025, when Lufthansa Technik rolled out the restored Lockheed L-1649A in Hamburg. For the first time in decades, the long-haul airliner stood complete on its own landing gear—an emotional moment for aviation enthusiasts. The story of this aircraft, however, stretches back far longer—and includes one of the most ambitious and costly restoration efforts in modern warbird history. The project began in 2008, when Lufthansa initiated plans to return a Lockheed L-1649A to airworthy condition. A dedicated organization was established to oversee the effort, working with the Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin Foundation, which initially handled project management. In 2015, responsibility shifted to the newly created Lufthansa Super Star gGmbH (LSSG), while Lufthansa Technik was tasked with the technical restoration.
The aircraft selected for the project was former TWA airliner N7316C (construction number 1018), one of three L-1649As previously owned by collector Maurice Roundy. Built by Lockheed in 1957, the airframe had last flown on November 9, 1983. Lufthansa Technik established a restoration team in Lewiston, Maine, in the spring of 2008, where work progressed for a decade. Despite significant progress—and the investment of vast sums reported to total around €150 million—Lufthansa announced the cancellation of the Super Star project in 2018, effectively ending plans to return the aircraft to flight at the last hurdle. Shortly thereafter, the largely restored airframe was transported from the United States to Germany, arriving in Bremen in 2019. It was later moved to Paderborn in February 2021 and returned to Hamburg in October 2023.
Following its January 2025 rollout, the 68-year-old airframe was dismantled for transport. The fuselage, wings, and tail were separated and moved by road to Münster/Osnabrück. By mid-July 2025, reassembly was complete, and on August 8, the aircraft was unveiled in full Lufthansa livery.
Painting was carried out by Altitude Paint Services (APS), with Hamburg-based Mankiewicz supplying approximately 500 liters of paint. The scheme was completed in three weeks using archival references and detailed planning by Lufthansa Technik’s Graphics Solutions team. The aircraft’s final journey took place later that month, when it was transported to Frankfurt and reassembled inside Hangar One. While the fuselage carries the registration D-ALAN, the original Lufthansa aircraft with that registration was construction number 1040. That airframe, along with two others, was acquired in 2007 by the Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin Foundation for restoration. Lufthansa operated four Super Stars between 1957 and 1966: D-ALER, D-ALOL, D-ALAN, and D-ALUB.
(Image credit: Dirk Grothe | digroaero.com)
Lufthansa Ju 52
Alongside the Super Star, the Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin Foundation’s Ju 52/3m D-AQUI has also found a permanent home in Hangar One. First flown on April 6, 1936, the aircraft was acquired by Lufthansa in 1984. Re-registered as D-CDLH, it carried approximately 250,000 passengers over 11,500 flight hours between 1986 and its retirement in 2018.
Looking Ahead
Hangar One is scheduled to open to the public in summer 2026, with the exhibition accessible several days a week. Meeting rooms, conference facilities, and event spaces—including a Diamond DA42 flight simulator—will be available for booking. While it is regrettable that the Ju 52 is no longer airworthy and the Super Star restoration was halted short of completion, both aircraft are now preserved for future generations—offering visitors a close look at two remarkable icons of aviation history.
(Image credit: Dirk Grothe | digroaero.com)
I will be in Frankfurt in Jone 2026.Will the hangar be open ??
Albert Speer as in the Nazi war criminal and Hitler’s BFF?
It is, in fact, the firm established by his son, Albert Speer Jr.