Super Star

With the Lockheed L-1649A Super Star, Lufthansa ushered in a new era in transatlantic air travel at the end of the 1950s. The elegant long-haul aircraft was the flagship of the fleet and stood for technical progress, comfort, and the aspiration to offer intercontinental travel at the highest level.

From 1958 onwards, the Super Star connected Europe with North America non-stop. The transatlantic flights, which lasted up to 17 hours – especially between Hamburg and New York – were considered a masterpiece of their time. Lufthansa introduced Senator Class on board for the first time, establishing an exclusive travel experience that had a lasting impact on the airline's premium standards.

The Super Star was also exceptional from a technical point of view: four powerful piston engines, long, slender wings, improved aerodynamics, and the characteristic triple tail fin ensured long range, smooth running, and reliability – characteristics that made it the technical pinnacle of propeller-driven long-haul aircraft. The Super Star also marked the end of the classic propeller era, shortly before the jet age began.

Detailed reconstruction of a long-haul legend

The Super Star with the registration D-ALAN in Hangar One has seen some ups and downs. After its active service, it was converted into a freighter, sold, and finally decommissioned before being taken over by Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung in 2007 to preserve it as an important piece of Lufthansa history. For its presentation in Hangar One, the Super Star was extensively rebuilt by Lufthansa Technik and the Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung, closely following its original condition in the 1950s. The fuselage, wings, tail and cabin were assembled with great attention to detail, the striking livery was reconstructed in the historic Lufthansa design and the cockpit was modeled on the original. The Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung will be responsible for the care and maintenance of the Super Star in the future.

Would you like to learn more about the Super Star? Further details on technology, data and special features can be found in the fact sheet available for download.