lufthansa upcycles scrap airplane parts to create furniture collection

lufthansa has unveiled its ‘upcyling collection’, a series of lifestyle accessories and home furniture made from scrap airplane parts. the german airline made use of the defunct parts left over after retiring its airbus a340-600 D-AIHO earlier this year.

images courtesy of lufthansa

the airline commissioned product designers and recycling experts to sustainably reuse the original materials. pieces include coffee tables made using the side of the aircraft, a ‘wall bar’ crafted from two windows and a piece of fuselage panel that sells as a table sculpture. engineers used an angle grinder to slice the parts of the plane needed to create each piece.

the collection also features accessories made from retired safety cards, headrest covers and blankets. the aluminium cladding of the machine was also used to make high-quality key rings. a clock made from the window fronts of the a340-600, of which only 20 were made, is already sold out.

‘lufthansa cabins are full of high-quality materials. even the outer skin is made of extremely durable materials,’ lufthansa explains. ‘they’re much too valuable to throw away ⁠– it would be better to reuse them. that’s good for the environment and also offers an unparalleled chance to create unique products with a link to aviation and to our company. that’s how the idea for our brand-new lufthansa upcycling collection was born.’

‘over time there were more and more items and materials that had the old [lufthansa] design and were no longer usable in their original form,’ said joel bertram, the airline’s corporate designer. ‘each element and each material in the upcycling collection is unique and has its own story.’

prices start at just €25 for a keychain, while a gym bag made from the remains of a business class blanket costs €32. a coffee table made from a side panel of the a340-600 costs from €1,399 and the unique ‘wall bar’ is priced at €1,444. the full collection is available from the lufthansa worldshop here.