My friends and I just got back from the Airbus factory tour in Hamburg and I can’t begin to tell you how much we loved it! Having done both the Airbus Hamburg factory tour and the Boeing factory tour in Everett, Washington, I can honestly say that I enjoyed the Airbus Hamburg factory tour more than the Boeing factory tour. The Airbus Hamburg factory tour is informative, entertaining and will give you a better appreciation for all the hard work that goes into building these amazing aircraft.
There is only one factory tour of the Airbus Hamburg facility and it is operated by a private tour company, Globetrotters Tours. The cost of the tour is 23,90 Euros per person (approximately $26 USD) and they do offer student and senior citizen discounts. The tour lasts approximately 2.5 hours and must be booked in advanced. You cannot just show up without reservations and expect to go on a tour. The tours do sell out so it’s best to book as soon as possible.
The tour runs Monday through Saturday with the first tour starting at 9:30 AM and the last tour at 4:30 PM. Minimum age for the tour is 14 years old and the tour is not suitable for persons in wheelchairs or those with mobility issues. The reason being is that you do have to climb several flights of stairs to get to the viewing platforms.
Airbus Hamburg factory tour location
I must warn you; getting to and from the Airbus Hamburg factory tour can be a pain in the butt. The Airbus factory is located approximately 40 minutes outside of central Hamburg and there are no easy public transportation options for getting to/from there.
Uber is not an option in Hamburg and taxis will be very expensive. If you do hire a taxi to get to the Airbus factory, know that there are zero taxis outside of central Hamburg so it might be a little hard to get back home from the tour. Renting a car is an option if you are comfortable driving in a foreign country. If you do rent a car, there will be plenty of free parking at the tour meeting point for your rental. Because there were 4 of us going, my friends and I booked a private car service to drive us back and forth. It was a bit pricey but the convenience was worth it for us.
The entrance to the Airbus factory and the meeting point for the Airbus Hamburg factory tour is located at Kreetslag 7, 21129 Hamburg. The Globetrotters office is located to the left of the main gate in the Airbus Periport building.
Check-in for the Airbus Hamburg factory tour opens 30 mins prior to your tour time. When you check in, you will need to show them your passport for identification. They will then give you a receiver and headphones to hear the live commentary of the tour guide.
There is a small gift shop located inside the Globetrotters office with a minimal selection of Airbus branded gifts and souvenirs. There is also a convenience store next door if you want to buy some food or snacks. The convenience store also has a selection of Airbus model planes and other souvenirs.
The Airbus Hamburg factory tour consists of:
- A short bus ride through the campus to the Airbus Factory Visitors Center where you will watch a short film on Airbus’ history.
- Guided tour on foot of the equipment assembly and final assembly stations for the A320 family of jets. This portion of the tour was really neat. We got to walk on the assembly floor and see the employees working on the aircraft a few dozen feet away.
- Guided tour on foot of the structural assembly and final assembly stations for the A380s. This was my favorite part of the tour! We visited two different stations. At the first station, we saw seats and other electronics being installed and at the second station, we saw the nearly completed aircraft just a mere several feet away! I don’t think you realize how massive these aircraft are until you stand over one.
- And lastly, a guided bus tour around the Airbus facility including a quick visit to the customer delivery center. Yup, not all deliveries occur in Toulouse.
How to book the Airbus Hamburg Factory Tour
Their website is not the best so I’ll walk you through how to book a reservation.
- Go to the Globetrotters Tours website here. Click on the UK flag to read the webpage in English.
- Click on “Single Products” and scroll down to “Airbus Site Tour – Hamburg.”
- Click on “Pick a tour.” The tours are offered in 3 different languages, German, English and French. Make sure to select the tour time with your preferred language.
- The next page will make you register for an account. You must do this in order to proceed with the registration process. Once you register and create an account, they will email you a confirmation email with further instructions.
- When you receive your email, go through all the attachments for additional information. Complete the “participant information list” and send it back to them within 14 days of the tours. This list is mandatory and requires the names, addresses, dates of births and other contact information for everyone on the reservation.
- After they received your participant information list, you will then receive your tour vouchers.
I know all this sounds like a complicated mess but the tour really is worth it. Trust me.
Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside the factory so I wasn’t able to take any and post them here for you to view. But what I really liked most about the tour was how close and personal we got to these aircraft and employees. Unlike on the Boeing tour where we only viewed the aircraft from an elevated platform, we got to walk on the floor and see everything that was going on. We couldn’t touch anything nor could we talk to the employees but being able to see everything from the floor was a freaking amazing experience. The tour itself is not very long but the memories will last you long after the tour is done. If you are an AVGEEK, I would highly recommend a visit to the Airbus Hamburg factory.
Have you done the Airbus Hamburg Factory Tour? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
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